# 千日の勤学より一時の名匠



## Wesley To

Hi,
This is the signature of a poster in a forum:
“Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher” – a Japanese proverb.

Another poster saw it and wrote:
Hi there, I just want you to know that your motto "Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher" is not actually a Japanese proverb. It is a Chinese proverb. Please feel free to check on it. In Chinese, it goes like "听君一席话，胜读十年书". Excuse me, but I just can't help telling you this.

The two proverbs do sound alike but it wouldn't surprise me if there were a similar one in Japanese. So, could anyone tell me what that is? Thank you very much.


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## 810senior

Okay, here's the Japanese one.


> 千日の勤学より一時の名匠_Sen'nichi no kingaku yori ichiji no meishou_
> lit. Rather than diligent studying for a thousand days, a master-hand just for an instant.



千日の勤学より一時の名匠 - ことわざのコトパワ

Could you give us the translation of the Chinese saying?
It seems to me like the English translation is, if anything, even closer to the Japanese one.


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## karlalou

Wesley To said:


> “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher” – a Japanese proverb.


Great Saying!! I've never heard that before though, instantly I like it!!


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## SoLaTiDoberman

Hi,
I doubt that the signature is accurate.
It totally depends on the definition of the "*a Japanese proverb*" or 日本の諺.

If the definition is "_a proverb written in Japanese_", *"千日の勤学より一時の名匠" *is definitely* "a Japanese proverb" *but* “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher” – a Japanese proverb.*(-->This part should be changed to "an English proverb," right?)

If the definition is "a Japanese origin proverb," it might be incorrect.
For example, the website quoted in #2 seems not so accurate.
千日の勤学より一時の名匠 - ことわざのコトパワ

For example, 温故知新 is regarded as 中国の諺. I agree with it.
温故知新 - ことわざのコトパワ

故きを温ねて新しきを知る is also regarded as 中国の諺, not 日本の諺. Okay, I see.
故きを温ねて新しきを知る - ことわざのコトパワ

However, すべての道はローマに通ず is regarded as 日本の諺, although it clearly says that it is a translation from Latin. Oh, no! It doesn't make sense. It already became 日本の諺？　Then how about 故きを温ねて？
すべての道はローマに通ず - ことわざのコトパワ

From this observation, the definition of 日本の諺 in the website, ことぱわ, can be unclear.
I believe that 千日の勤学より一時の名匠 is a proverb written in Japanese, and its origin would probably not be in Japanese, probably in Chinese for example.

I can say 温故知新, 故きを温ねて新しきを知る, and すべての道はローマに通ず are "Japanese proverbs" (日本の諺) in a certain point of view. They are so popular that they are already a part of the Japanese language.

千日の勤学より一時の名匠, however, is definitely not popular for most Japanese people including me.
I too heard it for the first time in this thread.

From this viewpoint, I cannot help suspecting that the signature might not be alright, if the write quoted from that website. However, it totally depends on the definition of the term by the writer themselves.


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## 810senior

The thing is that we don't have any decisive clue on where this proverb came from.
Even so I agree this saying isn't that popular in Japanese because I'm too the one who had never heard it until I googled around.


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## SoLaTiDoberman

810senior said:


> The thing is that we don't have any decisive clue on where this proverb came from.


True! 

BTW, I think I found a Japanese one:
『独学よりプロに習え』.


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## Wesley To

810senior said:


> Okay, here's the Japanese one.
> 
> 
> 千日の勤学より一時の名匠 - ことわざのコトパワ
> 
> Could you give us the translation of the Chinese saying?
> It seems to me like the English translation is, if anything, even closer to the Japanese one.



Thank you for your replies. Here is a translation and explanation of the proverb.
与君一夕话，胜读十年书
Some people say 一席话 while some say 一夕话. 席 and 夕 sound very alike (same sound, different tones). People get them mixed up. 十年 is literally ten years and I bet you know it. To me, the saying is not so much a proverb as a  *compliment *as the word 君 is used.

I think there is a consensus among us that it is sometimes difficult to tell where a  proverb is originated from. So, I keep my goal simple : check whether there is a saying in Japanese that can be translated into the English version and check whether it fits better than the Chinese one. Since all of you say that the proverb is not popular among you, I'll keep in mind that it is probably not of Japanese origin. 

One more question. As I am way far from an authority on Japanese, could you tell me if “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher” is a faithful translation of "千日の勤學より一時の名匠"?


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## karlalou

Wesley To said:


> One more question. As I am way far from an authority on Japanese, could you tell me if “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher” is a faithful translation of "千日の勤學より一時の名匠"?


I say, yes, it is very much so. To be exact, 一時 is 'on one occasion', and not really 'one day', but I think it's close enough. mm..and, "Better" is implied.


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## 810senior

I'm sure this is the one translated or loaned from some language as the others agreed but judging from the English translation it seems like the Japanese one has much influence on it than Chinese does.
You can check it out of my literal translation.


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## Wesley To

It's clear now. I really appreciate your help.


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