005Japanese proverb ことわざ
塵も積もれば山となる
ちりもつもればやまとなるChiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru
“Even dust, piling up, becomes a mountain.”
The meaning
Nothing is too small to count. Tiny gestures, repeated, end up forming something immense — for better or worse.
At the origin
A traditional proverb, often cited about saving, study and habits.
The characters
- 塵 chiridust
- も moalso, even
- 積もれば tsumorebaif piled up
- 山
- と
- なる
もParticle“Also, even”: adds or strengthens.
In practice
Do not despise the five available minutes: they add up.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 153 愚公、山を移す The old fool moves the mountain.
- 196 蝸牛そろそろ登れ富士の山 Little snail, climb, ever so slowly, Mount Fuji.
- 197 積小為大 Accumulating the small builds the great.
- 234 分け入っても分け入っても青い山 However deep I go, and deeper still — blue mountains.
- 001 石の上にも三年 Even a stone grows warm if you sit on it for three years.