“Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to drop back.”
Chinese Proverb
Lifelong LearningEffort
Learning Quotes
90 FAMOUS QUOTES · LEARNING
Learning Quotes
Read 90 of the best learning quotes from Confucius, Mahatma Gandhi, Chanakya, Maria Montessori, Albert Einstein and Galileo, plus quotes on study habits, mistakes and growth.
“Who is wise? He who learns from every person.”
Pirkei Avot
HumilityWisdom
“I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, and most of all from my students.”
The Talmud
TeachingHumility
“Teach thy tongue to say 'I do not know,' and thou shalt progress.”
Maimonides
HonestyGrowth
“Do not say, 'When I have leisure, I will study'; perhaps you will never have leisure.”
Hillel the Elder
ProcrastinationStudy
“The bashful cannot learn, and the impatient cannot teach.”
Pirkei Avot
CouragePatience
“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
Plato
ChildrenTeaching
“If you love learning, you will become a master of learning.”
Isocrates
PassionMastery
“Hear much and select what is good and follow it; see much and keep it in memory.”
Confucius
ListeningObservation
“Keep on learning as long as you are ignorant; even to the end of your life, if there is anything in the proverb.”
Seneca
Lifelong LearningHumility
“It is right to learn, even from an enemy.”
Ovid
Open MindWisdom
“The authority of those who teach is often an obstacle to those who want to learn.”
Cicero
TeachersIndependent Thinking
“A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.”
Chinese Proverb
WisdomConversation
“Learning is a sea without a shore.”
Chinese Proverb
Lifelong LearningShort Quotes
“To teach is to learn.”
Japanese Proverb
TeachingShort Quotes
“Learning is like a cow of desire. It yields in all seasons. Like a mother, it feeds us on our journey. Therefore learning is a hidden treasure.”
Chanakya
Value Of LearningTreasure
“A student learns a quarter from the teacher, a quarter from his own intelligence, a quarter from fellow students, and the remaining quarter with time.”
Ancient Sanskrit Verse
StudentsTeachers
“Gather knowledge moment by moment, and wealth grain by grain.”
Ancient Sanskrit Verse
ConsistencySmall Steps
“Learn while you are young.”
Avvaiyar
YouthShort Quotes
“The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence, the second listening, the third memory, the fourth practice, the fifth teaching others.”
Solomon ibn Gabirol
WisdomSteps
“Ask the experienced rather than the learned.”
Arabic Proverb
ExperienceAdvice
“The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence.”
Amos Bronson Alcott
TeachersIndependence
“The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, 'The children are now working as if I did not exist.'”
Maria Montessori
TeachersIndependence
“Since growth is the characteristic of life, education is all one with growing.”
John Dewey
GrowthEducation
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”
Henry David Thoreau
ExperienceWriting
Related Topics
About Learning Quotes
Learning doesn't stop when school ends. Every conversation, mistake, book and new experience can teach us something if we stay curious and humble. The wisest people in history saw themselves as lifelong students, always ready to learn from teachers, friends, children and even their critics.
This collection brings together 90 of the best learning quotes. It starts with classic words from Confucius, Plato, Hillel, Maimonides, Chanakya and Avvaiyar, continues with quotes from Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Galileo, Henry Ford and other famous voices, and ends with original WebFunFacts quotes on study habits, learning from mistakes, teachers, new skills and growth mindset. For more, explore our [Education Quotes](/topics/education-quotes) and [Knowledge Quotes](/topics/knowledge-quotes).
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Learning quotes.
What is the most famous quote about learning?
Mahatma Gandhi's "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever" is one of the best known. The Chinese proverb "Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to drop back" is another favourite.
Did Benjamin Franklin say "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn"?
It's often credited to Franklin, but there's no proof he said it. It's most likely adapted from the ancient Chinese philosopher Xunzi, who wrote something very similar.
What did Chanakya say about learning?
Chanakya compared learning to a "cow of desire" that gives in every season and feeds us like a mother on life's journey, calling it a hidden treasure.
What is a good quote about learning from mistakes?
Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Henry Ford called failure "the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."
What is a good quote for students?
Hillel the Elder warned, "Do not say, 'When I have leisure, I will study'; perhaps you will never have leisure." Or try "A study timetable is a promise to your future self."
What does "learn, unlearn and relearn" mean?
Alvin Toffler said the illiterate of the 21st century will be those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn. It means adapting to change matters as much as gaining knowledge.