What does it mean?
三人行，必有我师焉 (sān rén xíng, bì yǒu wǒ shī yān) is commonly translated “among any three people walking, one can surely be my teacher.” The point is not that every person is equally qualified in every subject. It is that other people provide examples worth learning from.
Where it comes from
The line is from the Analects · 论语, Shu Er 7.22. The fuller passage continues by saying that one should follow what is good in others and correct what is not good. Quoting only the first sentence can make the saying sound more flattering and less critical than the original.
How to use it
It works well as a study note or a reminder to stay open to learning. If used in a design, keep the phrase together and do not add a promise that everyone will automatically become a teacher or mentor.
Common mistakes
- Treating every opinion as equally reliable.
- Reducing the line to “everyone is a teacher” without the context of choosing good examples.
- Using a partial quotation that changes the argument.