道 可 道 , 非 常 道 。
The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao
名 可 名 , 非 常 名 。
The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.
無 名 天 地 之 始 ﹔ 有 名 萬 物 之 母
Conceived of as having no name, it is the originator of Heaven and Earth;
Conceived of as having a name it is the Mother of all things.
---Translated by James Legge
道 可 道 , 非 常 道 。
A Dao that is definable is not the eternal Dao.
名 可 名 , 非 常 名 。
A name that is assignable is not the eternal name.
無 名 天 地 之 始 ﹔ 有 名 萬 物 之 母 。
“Nonexistence” is named for the genesis of heaven-and-earth;
“Existence,” the mother of all.
- 徐英才英譯《道德經》
道 可 道 , 非 常 道 。
The Tao that can be talked about is not the true Tao
名 可 名 , 非 常 名 。
The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.
無 名 天 地 之 始 ﹔ 有 名 萬 物 之 母
Everything in the universe comes out of Nothing. Nothing – the nameless is the beginning ;
While Heaven, the mother is the creatrix of all things.
---Translated by Man-Ho Kwok, Martin Palmer, Jay Ramsay