a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

Etymology
, quoted by the Chinese philosopher Laozi in the Tao Te Ching. This quote is sometimes erroneously attributed to Laozi's contemporary, Confucius, who is the founder of Confucianism, or to the Japanese.

Proverb

 * 1) Even the longest and most difficult ventures have a starting point.
 * 2) * 1981, Robert Leland Youngs, Forest products research needs and prospects (thinking globally, acting locally), Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture:
 * The problems are great--but this means that the opportunities are also great. In this situation it is well to remember the ancient wise words of Lao Tzu "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
 * 1) * 1981, Robert Leland Youngs, Forest products research needs and prospects (thinking globally, acting locally), Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture:
 * The problems are great--but this means that the opportunities are also great. In this situation it is well to remember the ancient wise words of Lao Tzu "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

Translations

 * Arabic: رِحْلَةُ اَلْأَلْفِ مِيلِ تَبْدَأُ بِخَطْوَةِ وَاحِدَةِ
 * Chinese:
 * Cantonese: 千里之行，始於足下
 * Mandarin:
 * Czech: cesta dlouhá tisíc mil začíná jedním krokem
 * Dutch: een reis van duizend mijlen begint met een enkele stap
 * Esperanto: milmejla vojaĝo komenciĝas per unu paŝo
 * Estonian: tuhande miiline rännak algab esimesest sammust
 * Finnish: pisinkin matka alkaa yhdellä askeleella
 * French: un voyage de mille lieues commence toujours par un premier pas
 * German: eine Reise von tausend Meilen beginnt mit dem ersten Schritt
 * Greek: ένα ταξίδι χιλίων μιλίων ξεκινά με ένα μόνο βήμα
 * Hebrew: גם מסע של אלף מייל מתחיל בצעד אחד קטן
 * Hindi: हजार कोसों का सफर भी एक पैर उठाने से ही शुरू होता है
 * Hungarian: az ezer mérföldes utazás is egyetlen lépéssel kezdődik
 * Italian: un viaggio di mille miglia comincia con il primo passo
 * Japanese:
 * Korean:, 천리지행 시어족하
 * Lithuanian: tūkstančio mylių kelionė prasideda žengus vieną žingsnį
 * Norwegian: en vandring på tusen mil starter med ett enkelt skritt
 * Polish: podróż tysiąca mil zaczyna się od jednego kroku
 * Portuguese: uma viagem de mil milhas começa com um único passo
 * Romanian: o călătorie de o mie de mile începe cu un singur pas
 * Russian: путь в ты́сячу вёрст начина́ется с пе́рвого ша́га
 * Serbo-Croatian:
 * Cyrillic: далеко путованје починје првим кораком
 * Roman: daleko putovanje počinje prvim korakom
 * Slovene: potovanje daleč se začne s prvim korakom
 * Spanish: un viaje de mil millas comienza con un solo paso
 * Tagalog: ang mahabang paglalakbay ay nagsimula sa isang hakbang
 * Thai: หนทางไกลนับพันลี้เริ่มต้นจากก้าวแรก
 * Turkish: binlerce kilometrelik yolculuk bile tek bir adımla başlar
 * Ukrainian: шлях у ти́сячу миль почина́ється з одного́ кро́ку
 * Vietnamese: hành trình ngàn dặm bắt đầu từ một bước đi