小時偷針，大時偷金
Chinese
| childhood | to steal; to pilfer | needle; pin | big; old | time; when | to steal; to pilfer | gold | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (小時偷針，大時偷金) | 小時 | 偷 | 針 | ， | 大 | 時 | 偷 | 金 | |
| simp. (小时偷针，大时偷金) | 小时 | 偷 | 针 | ， | 大 | 时 | 偷 | 金 | |
| Literally: “one who steals a needle during childhood will steal gold as an adult”. | |||||||||
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: xiǎo shí tōu zhēn, dà shí tōu jīn
- Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄕˊ ㄊㄡ ㄓㄣ , ㄉㄚˋ ㄕˊ ㄊㄡ ㄐㄧㄣ
- Tongyong Pinyin: siǎo shíh tou jhen, dà shíh tou jin
- Wade–Giles: hsiao3 shih2 tʻou1 chên1, ta4 shih2 tʻou1 chin1
- Yale: syǎu shŕ tōu jēn-, dà shŕ tōu jīn
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sheau shyr tou jen, dah shyr tou jin
- Palladius: сяо ши тоу чжэнь, да ши тоу цзинь (sjao ši tou čžɛnʹ, da ši tou czinʹ)
- Sinological IPA (key): /ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ tʰoʊ̯⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂən⁵⁵ tä⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ tʰoʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡ɕin⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: siu2 si4 tau1 zam1, daai6 si4 tau1 gam1
- Yale: síu sìh tāu jām, daaih sìh tāu gām
- Cantonese Pinyin: siu2 si4 tau1 dzam1, daai6 si4 tau1 gam1
- Guangdong Romanization: xiu2 xi4 teo1 zem1, dai6 xi4 teo1 gem1
- Sinological IPA (key): /siːu̯³⁵ siː²¹ tʰɐu̯⁵⁵ t͡sɐm⁵⁵ taːi̯²² siː²¹ tʰɐu̯⁵⁵ kɐm⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Proverb
小時偷針，大時偷金
- One who commits small wrongs at a young age, if left uncorrected, will continue to commit crimes that are more serious.
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 小時偷針，大時偷金 (“one who commits small wrongs at a young age, if left uncorrected, will continue to commit crimes that are more serious”) [map]
| Variety | Location | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 小時偷針，大時偷金 | |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | 細時偷針，大時偷金, 小時偷針，大時偷金 |
| Hakka | Meixian | 還細偷針，大欸偷金 |
| Changting | 還細偷針，大哩偷金 | |
| Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 細時偷針，大來偷金 | |
| Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 細時偷針，大來偷金 | |
| Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 細時偷針，大來偷金 | |
| Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 細時偷針，大來偷金 | |
| Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 細時偷針，大來偷金 | |
| Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 細漢偷針，大漢偷金 | |
| Southern Min | Xiamen | 細漢偷攑針，大漢偷攑杉, 細漢偷挽匏，大漢偷牽牛, 細漢偷割匏，大漢偷牽牛, 序細偷挽匏，序大偷牽牛 |
| Quanzhou | 細漢偷攑針，大漢偷攑杉, 細漢偷挽匏，大漢偷牽牛 | |
| Zhangzhou | 細漢偷攑針，大漢偷攑杉, 細漢偷挽匏，大漢偷牽牛 | |