欲速不达 (yù sù bù dá)

idiom (chengyu) HSK 6

Traditional 欲速不達

yù sù bù dá

haste makes waste · more haste, less speed · trying to rush leads to failure

Meaning

This classical idiom warns that being overly hasty or impatient often prevents you from achieving your goal. It expresses the wisdom that rushing through something typically results in mistakes, setbacks, or taking longer than a measured, patient approach would have taken.

Usage

Commonly used in formal writing and speech to caution against impatience or to explain why a careful, step-by-step approach is better than rushing. Often appears in educational contexts, business advice, and philosophical discussions about method and patience.

Examples

01
学习语言不能欲速不达，要打好基础才能真正掌握。
Xuéxí yǔyán bù néng yù sù bù dá, yào dǎ hǎo jīchǔ cái néng zhēnzhèng zhǎngwò.
When learning a language, haste makes waste; you must build a solid foundation to truly master it.
02
公司发展要循序渐进，欲速不达只会导致管理混乱。
Gōngsī fāzhǎn yào xúnxùjiànjìn, yù sù bù dá zhǐ huì dǎozhì guǎnlǐ hùnluàn.
Company development should proceed step by step; rushing it will only lead to management chaos.

Characters

Antonyms

稳扎稳打wěn zhā wěn dǎto proceed steadily and surely

Origin

This chengyu originates from the Analects of Confucius (《论语》), where Confucius advises that seeking speed will prevent reaching the goal. The phrase literally means 'desiring speed, not reaching' and has been used for over two thousand years to convey timeless wisdom about patience.