He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

Often labeled a “Chinese proverb” in English, this saying circulates primarily in modern quotation collections and educational contexts as advice about learning and humility. It reflects a common theme in Chinese didactic literature and classroom culture—valuing inquiry, apprenticeship, and the willingness to risk momentary embarrassment to gain lasting understanding. However, in its familiar English form it is typically presented without a traceable classical Chinese text, named author, or fixed historical occasion. It functions more as a piece of cross-cultural folk wisdom in translation than as a verifiable line from a specific Chinese work.

The proverb contrasts two kinds of “foolishness”: the brief, socially visible foolishness of asking a question, and the enduring, private foolishness of staying ignorant. Its point is pragmatic and ethical: learning requires vulnerability, and the fear of looking uninformed can become a barrier to knowledge. By framing the embarrassment as lasting only “five minutes,” it minimizes the perceived risk and reframes inquiry as the wiser choice. The line is often invoked to normalize curiosity in classrooms, workplaces, and apprenticeships, where status or pride might otherwise discourage clarification and slow genuine understanding.

1) “He who asks a question is a fool for a moment; he who does not ask remains a fool forever.”
2) “The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute; the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”
3) “Better to ask and be a fool for a moment than not ask and be a fool forever.”