谋 事 在 人，成 事 在 天

móu shì zài rén , chéng shì zài tiāndictionary entry

planning is with man, accomplishing with heaven (idiom) / Man proposes but God disposes.

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-b14457f71951fd16. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

謀事在人，成事在天 谋事在人，成事在天 [mou2 shi4 zai4 ren2 , cheng2 shi4 zai4 tian1] /planning is with man, accomplishing with heaven (idiom); Man proposes but God disposes./

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 謀事在人，成事在天

谋
móu
to plan / to seek / scheme
事
shì
matter / thing / item / work / affair / CL:件[jiàn],樁|桩[zhuāng],回[huí]
在
zài
to exist / to be alive / (of sb or sth) to be (located) at / (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
人
rén
person / people / CL:個|个[gè],位[wèi],名[míng]
成
chéng
to succeed / to finish / to complete / to accomplish / to become / to turn into / to be all right / OK! / one tenth
Chéng
surname Cheng / short name for Chengdu 成都[Chéng dū]
事
shì
matter / thing / item / work / affair / CL:件[jiàn],樁|桩[zhuāng],回[huí]
在
zài
to exist / to be alive / (of sb or sth) to be (located) at / (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
天
tiān
day / sky / heaven

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.