Fall seven times, stand up eight.

This saying is widely cited as a Japanese proverb, commonly given in Japanese as 「七転び八起き」(nanakorobi yaoki), literally “fall seven times, get up eight.” It belongs to a broader East Asian tradition of moral aphorisms emphasizing perseverance and resilience in the face of repeated setbacks. In Japan it is often associated with everyday encouragement as well as cultural symbols of persistence such as the Daruma doll, which is designed to right itself when tipped over and is used as a talisman for tenacity and goal-setting. The proverb circulates in modern motivational contexts, but its roots lie in older vernacular wisdom rather than a single identifiable author.

The proverb compresses a philosophy of resilience into a simple numerical paradox: if you fall seven times yet stand up eight, you must rise after every fall—and once more besides. The point is not the arithmetic but the insistence on recovery as a habit. It frames failure as expected and survivable, shifting attention from the setback to the act of returning to effort. In this sense, perseverance is portrayed less as heroic endurance and more as a repeated, practical choice. The saying’s enduring appeal comes from its universality: it validates struggle while prescribing a concrete response—get up again—making it a compact ethic for personal, professional, or communal adversity.

1) “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”
2) “Fall seven times and stand up eight.”
3) Japanese: 「七転び八起き」(nanakorobi yaoki).