Chinese idioms from the Dao De Jing
知足者富 (zhī zú zhě fù)
Word for word from chapter 33
知足者富 (zhī zú zhě fù), “knowing what is enough is wealth”, comes from chapter 33 of the Dao De Jing and means that whoever is content with what they have is rich.
Character by character
| 知足 | zhī zú | knowing what is enough |
|---|---|---|
| 者 | zhě | one who, that which |
| 富 | fù | rich, wealth |
| 知足者富 | Whoever knows what is enough is rich, however much or little they own. | |
Where it comes from
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知足者富，强行者有志，
Knowing what is enough is wealth; persevering is having will.
How the meaning moved
The four characters open the third line of chapter 33: “Knowing what is enough is wealth; persevering is having will.” Literally 知足者富 is “one who knows enough is rich”. The chapter is a list of such definitions, each turning a common value inward: “Knowing others is wisdom; knowing yourself is clarity.”
Knowing what is enough is one of the book's steady themes. Chapter 44 says “Knowing what is enough, you are not disgraced”, and chapter 46: “No disaster is greater than not knowing what is enough”, then “So the contentment of knowing what is enough is lasting contentment.” That last line is the source of the idiom 知足常乐. Chapter 33 adds the point that contentment is itself a kind of wealth: the rich are not those who have most but those who need no more.
Today 知足者富 is used as a maxim, often quoted against the race for money and possessions.
Using it today
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他收入不高，却常说知足者富，日子过得很踏实。
tā shōu rù bù gāo, què cháng shuō zhī zú zhě fù, rì zi guò de hěn tā shi.
His income isn't high, but he often says that knowing what is enough is wealth, and he lives a settled life.
-
知足者富，贪得无厌的人再有钱也觉得不够。
zhī zú zhě fù, tān dé wú yàn de rén zài yǒu qián yě jué de bù gòu.
Knowing what is enough is wealth: the greedy never feel they have enough, however rich they are.