For exam-takers! A collection of quotes that become profound and interesting once you understand their meaning
Are you unsure what to say to friends or younger classmates who are tense during exam season? Serious messages are great, but sometimes you want to help them relax with a lighthearted, funny encouragement that brings a little smile.
In fact, many great figures and popular characters have left us with memorable, humorous quotes.
In this article, we’ll introduce quotes from historical figures and characters that are perfect for cheering on exam-takers—lines filled with humor and warmth that become even funnier when you catch the meaning.
Turn that pressure into motivation!
To All Examinees! A Collection of Quotes That Become Profound and Fascinating Once You Understand Their Meaning (1–10)
Effort can lie, but it never goes to waste.Yuzuru Hanyu
Yuzuru Hanyu, who has excelled as a figure skater, drew attention by achieving strong results in numerous competitions, including the Olympics.
Here is a famous quote from this great figure skater—whose many accomplishments continue to be celebrated—about how effort connects to results.
He acknowledges the reality that sometimes effort doesn’t lead to outcomes, while also conveying that such experiences, too, become valuable lessons that will serve us in the future.
These are words to remember especially when it’s hard and results aren’t coming as hoped—words that give us the courage to push just a little further.
If we were just one minute earlier, we could save one more person.Calvin Coolidge
Let me introduce a powerful quote from Calvin Coolidge: “If you are one minute early, you can save one more person.” Calvin Coolidge was an American politician who also served as President.
This saying—“If you are one minute early, you can save one more person”—was apparently an American firefighting slogan that was introduced to Japan when the American Red Cross used it in 1923 (Taisho 12) to appeal for aid following the Great Kanto Earthquake.
These powerful words that crossed the ocean truly strike a chord, don’t they?
If you think you can, you can; if you think you can’t, you can’t. This is an unshakable, absolute law.Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso, who was active primarily in France, is an artist whose ideas embedded in his paintings and shifts in style have drawn great attention.
This quote, left by the great artist who is remembered from many perspectives, speaks to the importance of your mindset when taking on a challenge.
He tells us that believing you can is essential to accomplishing anything; without that belief, your efforts won’t lead to results.
These words are simple yet powerful, reminding us to believe in ourselves and to hold on to a strong determination to seize success.
If you work hard, will you be rewarded? That’s not it. You keep working hard until you’re rewarded.Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi, who has excelled as a footballer and is known for representing Argentina, is remembered as one of the greatest players of all time.
Here is a famous quote from this legendary player that expresses his attitude toward steadily putting in the work.
It questions the gentle notion that “effort is rewarded,” instead conveying a strong will: what matters is continuing to make an effort until it pays off.
Precisely because these are the words of someone who has delivered results, we can truly feel the importance of accumulating effort.
Feeling pressure means you’re confident you can pass.Mr. Tsubota 'Biri Gyaru' (also known in English as 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Exams' or 'Biri Gal')
They also developed films based on nonfiction works, drawing attention not only to the story but also to study methods.
This is a famous quote about pressure from Mr.
Tsubota, the teacher who nurtured the student once called “Biri Gyaru.” He says that feeling pressure is proof that you’ve been putting in the effort, and that you feel it precisely because you’re getting closer to the result.
When you’re nowhere near the outcome, you don’t feel pressure at all—so these words seem likely to turn pressure into confidence.
If you give up, the game is over right there.Mitsuyoshi Anzai, Slam Dunk
Slam Dunk is a popular basketball-themed manga, and its anime and movie adaptations also drew a lot of attention.
Among its many memorable lines, there’s a famous quote from Coach Anzai, who also serves as the team’s supervisor.
It’s addressed to a student on the verge of giving up, and you can feel the teacher’s kindness in his wish for the student to take a brave step forward.
As long as you keep challenging yourself without giving up, there’s still plenty of possibility left—these words genuinely lift your spirits in a positive way, don’t they?
Accumulating small things is the only path to reach unbelievable places.Ichiro (Suzuki Ichiro)
Ichiro didn’t just shine in Japan—he made his mark on the world stage, and the many records he set are firmly etched into baseball history.
Because he consistently produced such results, his words carry a special weight, expressing the importance of steady, cumulative effort.
He reminds us that even small efforts, built up over time, matter most, and that this accumulation of experience will one day lead to major results.
These are words to recall especially when you feel uncertain about whether you can achieve your goals—words that can prompt you to look back on your own steady progress.
Fools think things will somehow work out tomorrow. Even today is already too late; the wise have finished it yesterday.Charles Cooley
Charles Cooley, an American sociologist, is also known for proposing the concept of the “looking-glass self.” Because he studied human consciousness, his words about the timing of effort carry particular weight.
This famous quote admonishes those who think, “Tomorrow will work out somehow,” confronting them with the reality that truly capable people finish things by yesterday.
It powerfully conveys the importance of tackling tasks early and the fact that putting things off leads to regret.
Effort is always rewarded. If there is effort that isn’t rewarded, then it can’t yet be called effort.Sadaharu Oh
Sadaharu Oh is an indispensable figure when talking about Japanese baseball, not only for his achievements as a player but also for the many results he produced as a manager.
These words express the relationship between effort and outcome, evoking a connection to the record he left behind.
If results haven’t materialized, it means the effort cannot yet be called true effort; it urges us to keep piling on further effort.
It’s a message that says, “Keep working until the results come—don’t give up,” a powerful push that makes you feel encouraged to persevere.
Genius is an ordinary person who makes an extraordinary effort.Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, a theoretical physicist born in Germany, is known as one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, having proposed numerous theories that have left a lasting legacy.
This is a famous quote from that great physicist expressing his view on how genius and effort are related.
It conveys the idea that even those called geniuses are not extraordinary beings; rather, the results that earn someone the label of genius come from persistent effort by an ordinary person.
Because these words come from someone regarded as a genius, they carry persuasive power: if you keep putting in the effort, anyone can become someone who is called a genius.