一歲生張，百歲牢老

Chinese

one; single; a
one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)
 
 year; years old; (a measure word) innate disposition; inherent personality a hundred years; one's life firm; fast
old; aged; venerable
old; aged; venerable; outdated; experienced; (affectionate prefix)
 
trad. (一歲生張，百歲牢老) 一 歲 生張 ， 百歲 牢 老
simp. (一岁生张，百岁牢老) 一 岁 生张 ， 百岁 牢 老
Literally: “one's inherent disposition at one year old is stuck till one's old age at a hundred years old”.

Pronunciation

  • Southern Min
    • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
      • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi̍t-hè siⁿ-tiuⁿ, pah-hè tiâu-lāu
      • Tâi-lô: tsi̍t-hè sinn-tiunn, pah-hè tiâu-lāu
      • IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sit̚⁴⁻³² he²¹⁻⁵³ sĩ⁴⁴⁻²² tiũ⁴⁴ pa(ʔ)³²⁻⁵³ he²¹⁻⁵³ tiau²⁴⁻²² lau²²/

Proverb

一歲生張，百歲牢老

  1. (Hokkien) a leopard can't change its spots

Synonyms

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