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Is "Patience, young padawan" a direct quote from the Star Wars movies, or like "Play it again Sam" a phrase that is based on other quotes or things that Jedi seem likely to say?

I've not been able to find a video clip of this actual phrase in use, nor a video clip of a longer version "Patience you must have, my young padawan". I have seen the same quote attributed to "Revenge of the Sith" and attributed to Empire Strikes Back. I've found Obi-Wan quoted as saying something similar. I've also found "Patience, you must learn patience" But this seems to be a confabulation of "Control! you must learn control!" from Return of the Jedi. So it seems there is a deal of confusion around the Internet on this quote.

So is "Patience, young padawan", or "Patience you must have, my young padawan" an actual quote? Which movie is it from, and who says it?

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  • If anything, certainly not the Jodaspeak version. He rarely even talks to Padawans. It seems much more like something said by either Obi-Wan or Quigon.
    – Napoleon Wilson ♦
    Apr 9, 2019 at 21:37
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    Pretty sure that Qui-Gon says this to Obi-Wan in Episode 1, but I don't have the ability to check that right now.
    – nick012000
    Apr 10, 2019 at 3:49
  • @nick012000 I tried online scripts but can't find that line there. Nearest I got is: "Qui-Gon: But not at the expense of the moment. Be mindful of the living Force, young Padawan."
    – Ankit Sharma ♦
    Apr 10, 2019 at 6:53
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    I always figured (and used in my own speech) this was just a Star Wars version of the phrase "patience young grasshopper."
    – user25738
    Apr 10, 2019 at 16:27

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This is not a quote from any of the Star Wars film.

In the series, several of the characters recommend "patience". In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Jon tells Watto "Patience, my blue friend. You'll have your winnings before the suns set, and we'll be far away from here."

In Attack of the Clones, having followed the assassin to a night club, Anakin wants to follow her inside, but Obi-Wan cautions "Patience" before chastising Anakin for losing his light sabre. Obi-wan does call Anakin "my young Padawan" on several occasions in this film

In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin wants to be more open about his love for Padme, but she cautions "Patience, my handsome Jedi." On the other hand, when trapped behind ray shields, Anakin tells Obi-Wan "Patience [...] Artoo will be along in a few moments".

In The Return of the Jedi, the Emperor, sensing that Vader wants to search for Luke, recommends "Patience, my friend. In time he will seek you out." Yoda never calls for "patience" but does tell Luke "Control! you must learn control".

The term "Padawan" was not used in the original trilogy, and Luke was never a Padawan or called as such (according to this answer). Obi-wan and later Anakin are both called "My young Padawan" on several occasions by their respective masters.

I conclude that, while several Jedi (and Sith) recommend patience. And moreover patience is seen as a mark of the control that a Jedi should have. At no point does any character say "Patience young Padawan" or a similar phrase.

Quotes taken from IMSDb, which has draft scripts, and not neccesarily final movie transcripts.

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  • What about the animated series?
    – Fizz
    Apr 12, 2019 at 2:22
  • Or the Holiday special...
    – James K
    Apr 12, 2019 at 7:38
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    @JamesK Having watched the Holiday special more times than I really care to admit, I can tell you nobody talks about Padawans in it.
    – Ghotir
    Apr 12, 2019 at 19:16

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