a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Even the longest and most difficult tasks begin with one small action
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Ngay cả nhiệm vụ dài và khó khăn nhất cũng bắt đầu bằng một hành động nhỏ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: a long physical journey starting with one footstep
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” mean?
Even the longest and most difficult tasks begin with one small action Literally: a long physical journey starting with one footstep
Is “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.