proverb · Words worth keeping
Failure is the tuition you pay for success.
Failure is the tuition you pay for success.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Calling failure tuition compares an unsuccessful attempt with the cost of learning. It suggests that a setback may offer useful experience.
What the words are saying
The educational payment image treats experience as something acquired at a cost. It does not establish that failure is required for success or that increasing failures improves results. The supplied advice to double the failure rate is stronger than the source wording and is not a warranted instruction.
Everyday example
A learner considers what an unsuccessful project revealed before deciding whether another attempt is worthwhile.
When to use it
Use it to discuss possible learning from a cost already incurred.
What it does not mean
No literal fee, required failure rate or guaranteed return from a setback is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 781; PDF page 111
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.