学而不思则罔 xué ér bù sī zé wǎng Learning without thinking leads to confusion

Explanation

这句成语出自《论语·为政》，意思是学习只看书而不思考，就会被迷惑，难以真正理解；而思考而不学习，就会疑惑，难以深入。学习与思考相辅相成。

This proverb comes from Analects of Confucius, meaning that if you just learn without thinking, you will be misled and hard to truly understand; while thinking without learning, you will be confused and hard to go deep. Learning and thinking complement each other.

Origin Story

春秋时期，孔子周游列国，他常常告诫学生们要勤奋学习，但更要积极思考。有一次，他来到一个山清水秀的地方，看到一群孩子在溪边玩耍，其中一个孩子一边看书一边沉思，另一个孩子只是机械地背诵书本上的内容，孔子指着他们对弟子们说道：“看，那个思考的孩子会逐渐获得真知，而那个只背诵的孩子却永远停留在表面的理解上。学习而不思考，就会被知识所迷惑，所以学习要思考，思考也要学习，二者缺一不可。”

chūn qiū shí qī, kǒng zǐ zhōu yóu liè guó, tā cháng cháng gào jiè xué shēng men yào qín fèn xué xí, dàn gèng yào jī jí sī kǎo. yǒu yī cì, tā lái dào yīgè shān qīng shuǐ xiù de dì fāng, kàn dào yī qún hái zi zài xī biān wán shuǎ, qí zhōng yīgè hái zi yī biān kàn shū yī biān chén sī, lìng yīgè hái zi zhǐ shì jī xìe de bèi sòng shū běn shàng de nèi róng, kǒng zǐ zhǐ zhe tā men duì dì zǐ men shuō dào: “kàn, nàge sī kǎo de hái zi huì zhú jiàn huò dé zhēn zhī, ér nàge zhǐ bèi sòng de hái zi què yǒng yuǎn tíng liú zài biǎo miàn de lǐ jiě shàng. xué xí ér bù sī kǎo, jiù huì bèi zhī shì suǒ mó huò, suǒ yǐ xué xí yào sī kǎo, sī kǎo yě yào xué xí, èr zhě quē yī bù kě.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius traveled through various states, often admonishing his students to study diligently, but more importantly, to actively think. Once, he came to a beautiful place, where he saw a group of children playing by a stream. One child was reading a book and meditating, while the other was mechanically reciting the content of the book. Confucius pointed at them and said to his disciples: "Look, the child who thinks will gradually gain true knowledge, while the child who only recites will always remain at the superficial level of understanding. Learning without thinking will lead to being misled by knowledge, therefore, one must think when learning and learn when thinking; both are indispensable."

Usage

常用于劝诫人们学习要认真思考，不能死记硬背，要学以致用。

cháng yòng yú quàn jiè rén men xué xí yào rèn zhēn sī kǎo, bù néng sǐ jì yìng bèi, yào xué yǐ zhì yòng

Often used to warn people that learning should be accompanied by careful thinking, not rote memorization, and knowledge should be applied in practice.

Examples

• 纸上得来终觉浅，绝知此事要躬行。

  zhǐ shàng dé lái zhōng jué qiǎn, jué zhī cǐ shì yào gōng xíng

  Learning from books alone is not enough; experience is necessary.

• 只读书不实践，就会被蒙蔽，一事无成。

  zhǐ dú shū bù shí jiàn, jiù huì bèi méng bì, yī shì wú chéng

  Reading alone is not enough, reflection is required to truly understand.

Related Idioms

• 学以致用

• 知行合一

Opposite Idioms

• 眼高手低

• 好高骛远