一歲生根，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) to take root; to take root; to become established a hundred years; one's life firm; fast
old; aged; venerable
old; aged; venerable; outdated; experienced; (affectionate prefix)
 
trad. (一歲生根，百歲牢老) 一 歲 生根 ， 百歲 牢 老
simp. (一岁生根，百岁牢老) 一 岁 生根 ， 百岁 牢 老
Literally: “to take root at one year old and to be stuck till one's old age at a hundred years old”.

Pronunciation

  • Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): chi̍t-hè siⁿ-kun, pah-hè tiâu-lāu / chi̍t-hèr siⁿ-kun, pah-hèr tiâu-lǎu / chi̍t-hòe seⁿ-kin, pah-hòe tiâu-lāu
  • Southern Min
    • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
      • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi̍t-hè siⁿ-kun, pah-hè tiâu-lāu
      • Tâi-lô: tsi̍t-hè sinn-kun, pah-hè tiâu-lāu
      • IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sit̚⁴⁻³² he²¹⁻⁵³ sĩ⁴⁴⁻²² kun⁴⁴ pa(ʔ)³²⁻⁵³ he²¹⁻⁵³ tiau²⁴⁻²² lau²²/
    • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
      • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi̍t-hèr siⁿ-kun, pah-hèr tiâu-lǎu
      • Tâi-lô: tsi̍t-hèr sinn-kun, pah-hèr tiâu-lǎu
      • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sit̚²⁴⁻² hə⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ sĩ³³ kun³³ pa(ʔ)⁵ hə⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ tiau²⁴⁻²² lau²²/
    • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
      • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi̍t-hòe seⁿ-kin, pah-hòe tiâu-lāu
      • Tâi-lô: tsi̍t-huè senn-kin, pah-huè tiâu-lāu
      • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sit̚¹²¹⁻²¹ hue²¹⁻⁵³ sɛ̃⁴⁴⁻²² kin⁴⁴ pa(ʔ)³²⁻⁵³ hue²¹⁻⁵³ tiau¹³⁻²² lau²²/

Proverb

一歲生根，百歲牢老

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

Synonyms

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