Fall down seven times, stand up eight.

What it means

Resilience is measured by the getting up, not by the falling. The count is deliberately uneven — eight risings to seven falls — which is usually read as the idea that you must end standing.

Where it comes from

Not a native English proverb but a translation of the Japanese — *nana korobi ya oki*, literally “seven falls, eight risings”. It entered English through translation rather than from the older English proverb stock, and is now common enough in English motivational writing to be met without any note of its source.

Example sentences

• “He was turned down by every school and applied again the next year: fall down seven times, stand up eight.”
• “The team lost their first five matches and won the league. Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”
• “She has the phrase on her wall in the original Japanese.”

When it fits — and when it does not

Safe in English, but if you are asked where it comes from, it is Japanese rather than English. Both “stand up eight” and “get up eight” are current.

Similar phrases

• If at first you do not succeed, try, try again.
• When the going gets tough, the tough get going.