Chinese idioms from the Dao De Jing
知足常乐 (zhī zú cháng lè)
Reworked from chapter 46
知足常乐 (zhī zú cháng lè), “knowing what is enough, always happy”, reworks chapter 46 of the Dao De Jing: whoever is content with what they have stays happy.
Character by character
| 知足 | zhī zú | knowing what is enough |
|---|---|---|
| 常 | cháng | always, ever |
| 乐 | lè | glad; to delight in |
| 知足常乐 | Whoever is content with what they have, and asks for no more, stays happy. | |
Where it comes from
The idiom is not in the text as such: it reworks the line 知足之足，常足矣.
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故知足之足，常足矣。
So the contentment of knowing what is enough is lasting contentment.
How the meaning moved
The four characters 知足常乐 are not in the Dao De Jing. The idea is. Chapter 46 ends: “So the contentment of knowing what is enough is lasting contentment” (知足之足，常足矣), just after “No disaster is greater than not knowing what is enough; no fault is greater than wanting to gain.” The book says 知足, knowing what is enough, in two other chapters: “Knowing what is enough is wealth” in chapter 33, and “Knowing what is enough, you are not disgraced” in chapter 44.
The idiom keeps 知足 and 常 from chapter 46 and replaces the second 足, “enough”, with 乐, “happy”. The book is about having enough and staying safe: not knowing what is enough brings disaster and disgrace. The idiom speaks of being happy, and today it is a common everyday saying, used to be content with a modest life or to stop comparing oneself with others.
Using it today
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工资不高也没关系，一家人平平安安，知足常乐嘛。
gōng zī bù gāo yě méi guān xi, yī jiā rén píng píng ān ān, zhī zú cháng lè ma.
It doesn't matter that the pay isn't high: the family is safe and well, and being content keeps you happy.
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奶奶常说知足常乐，所以她从来不跟邻居比吃比穿。
nǎi nai cháng shuō zhī zú cháng lè, suǒ yǐ tā cóng lái bù gēn lín jū bǐ chī bǐ chuān.
Grandma always says that knowing what is enough keeps you happy, so she never competes with the neighbors over food and clothes.