<p>Chinese versions of some quotes at <a href="https://zh.wikiquote.org/zh-cn/%E9%A7%AD%E5%AE%A2%E4%BB%BB%E5%8B%99" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://zh.wikiquote.org/zh-cn/%E9%A7%AD%E5%AE%A2%E4%BB%BB%E5%8B%99</a> 
<a href="https://www.juzimi.com/article/%E9%BB%91%E5%AE%A2%E5%B8%9D%E5%9B%BD" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.juzimi.com/article/%E9%BB%91%E5%AE%A2%E5%B8%9D%E5%9B%BD</a> many w/o original, there find <strong>明白一件事和做这件事是不同的</strong> which sounds like a possible translation</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-19T17:26:58.343Z
2019-04-19T17:26:58.343Z
user6065
<blockquote>
<p><em>There is a difference in knowing the path and walking the path</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The idiom 知易行難 (knowing how to do something is easy; put it into action is hard) match this quote quite well</p>
<p>知 - know; aware</p>
<p>易 - easy</p>
<p>行 - implement; walk</p>
<p>難 - difficult</p>
<p><em>The writer might know this idiom but thought 行 meant walk</em></p>
<p>To put this idiom into quote:</p>
<p>正所謂「知易行難」</p>
<p>你知道「知易行難」的道理嗎?</p>
<p>古語有云 「知易行難」</p>
<p>To translate the quote from Matrix directly, you can say  &quot;知道路怎麼走和真的去走這條路是有分別的&quot; (There is a difference between knowing the path and really walking the path)</p>
<p>Note:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>PaleNeutron wrote:</p>
<p><em>popular way is &quot;说起来容易做起来难&quot;.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The elegant way to say it is &quot;说時容易做時难&quot;, which is a common expression</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-19T17:17:16.337Z
2019-04-20T20:22:06.287Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Tang Ho
<p>When people say "There is a difference in knowing the path and walking the path", they usually means "Do something is much harder than know something".</p>

<p>Based on your context, the formal way is "知易行难", but the popular way is "说起来容易做起来难".</p>

<p>One step further, "知行" is the core theory of a school in Ming, ref. <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9F%A5%E8%A1%8C%E5%90%88%E4%B8%80" rel="nofollow noreferrer">知行合一</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-20T17:47:58.400Z
"说起来容易做起来难" is not as elegant as "说時容易做時难" as an expression
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-20T07:11:18.370Z
2019-04-20T07:11:18.370Z
PaleNeutron
<p>Probably, 眼高手低 denotes the same sense. It describes that one possesses good knowledge or vision, but can't achieve much practically.</p>

<p>More closely, it can be 理论和实践是不同的.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-20T11:35:41.947Z
2019-04-20T11:45:11.690Z
2019-04-20T11:45:11.690Z
dan
<p>I know how Google Translate translates this, but wondering how those who actually use Mandarin/Chinese would say it.</p>

<p>Thank you very much in advance.</p>

<translation><phrase-meaning>
Matrix movie quote question: Advice on saying/translating "There is a difference in knowing the path and walking the path"?
# Matrix movie quote question: Advice on saying/translating "There is a difference in knowing the path and walking the path"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-19)

I know how Google Translate translates this, but wondering how those who actually use Mandarin/Chinese would say it.

Thank you very much in advance.

**Tags:** translation, phrase-meaning


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-04-19. Score: 3

Chinese versions of some quotes at <https://zh.wikiquote.org/zh-cn/%E9%A7%AD%E5%AE%A2%E4%BB%BB%E5%8B%99>
<https://www.juzimi.com/article/%E9%BB%91%E5%AE%A2%E5%B8%9D%E5%9B%BD> many w/o original, there find **明白一件事和做这件事是不同的** which sounds like a possible translation


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### Answer by username_2 on 2019-04-19. Score: 3

> *There is a difference in knowing the path and walking the path*

The idiom 知易行難 (knowing how to do something is easy; put it into action is hard) match this quote quite well

知 - know; aware

易 - easy

行 - implement; walk

難 - difficult

*The writer might know this idiom but thought 行 meant walk*

To put this idiom into quote:

正所謂「知易行難」

你知道「知易行難」的道理嗎?

古語有云 「知易行難」

To translate the quote from Matrix directly, you can say "知道路怎麼走和真的去走這條路是有分別的" (There is a difference between knowing the path and really walking the path)

Note:

> username_3 wrote:
>
> *popular way is "说起来容易做起来难".*

The elegant way to say it is "说時容易做時难", which is a common expression


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### Answer by username_3 on 2019-04-20. Score: 1

When people say "There is a difference in knowing the path and walking the path", they usually means "Do something is much harder than know something".

Based on your context, the formal way is "知易行难", but the popular way is "说起来容易做起来难".

One step further, "知行" is the core theory of a school in Ming, ref. [知行合一](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9F%A5%E8%A1%8C%E5%90%88%E4%B8%80).

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: "说起来容易做起来难" is not as elegant as "说時容易做時难" as an expression  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2019-04-20. Score: 1

Probably, 眼高手低 denotes the same sense. It describes that one possesses good knowledge or vision, but can't achieve much practically.

More closely, it can be 理论和实践是不同的.


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