English [ edit ] Etymology [ edit ] From the Bible's account of Jesus' last night in Gethsemane. Matthew 26:41 : Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Proverb [ edit ] the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
As much as one wishes to achieve something, the frailties of the human body often make it impossible . Sometimes extended to jocular or organizational referents. Related terms [ edit ] Translations [ edit ] achieving something is made impossible by frailty
Arabic: الرُوحُ تَوَّاقَةُ وَلٰكِنَّ الجَسَدُ ضَعِيفُ ( ar-rūḥu tawwāqatu walākinna l-jasadu ḍaʕīfu )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 心有餘而力不足 ／ 心有余而力不足 (zh) ( xīn yǒu yú ér lì bù zú )
Czech: duchť zajisté hotov jest, ale tělo nemocno
Danish: ånden er rede, men kødet er skrøbeligt
Dutch: de geest is gewillig, maar het vlees is zwak
Esperanto: la spirito ja estas fervora, sed la karno estas malforta
Finnish: henki on altis, mutta liha on heikko henki tosin on altis, mutta liha on heikko
French: l’esprit est prompt, mais la chair est faible
German: der Geist ist willig, aber das Fleisch ist schwach (de)
Hebrew: אמנם הרוח חפצה, אבל הבשר חלש הרוח חפצה והבשר רָפֶה
Hindi: आत्मा तैयार है लेकिन मांस कमजोर है ( ātmā taiyār hai lekin māns kamjor hai )
Hungarian: a lélek kész, de a test erőtlen (hu)
Italian: lo spirito è pronto, ma la carne è stanca
Japanese: 心熱けれど肉体は弱し ( kokoro netsu keredo nikutai wa yowashi )
Latin: spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma
Maori: he hihiko te wairua, ko te kikokiko ia he ngoikore
Norwegian:
Bokmål: ånden er villig men kjødet er svakt
Polish: dusza chętna, ale ciało słabe
Portuguese: o espírito está pronto, mas a carne é fraca
Russian: дух бодр, плоть же не́мощна ( dux bodr, plotʹ že némoščna )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: дух је, истина, вољан, но тијело је слабо
Roman: duh je, istina, voljan, no tijelo je slabo
Spanish: el espíritu está presto, mas la carne enferma
Swedish: anden är villig men köttet är svagt 1917 );anden vill , men kroppen är svag 2000 )
Vietnamese: tâm thần thì muốn lắm, mà xác thịt thì yếu đuối