刀不磨要生锈，人不学要落后 in English dao1 bu4 mo2 yao4 sheng1 xiu4 , ren2 bu4 xue2 yao4 luo4 hou4 Meaning

Meanings

  • a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened; a man will fall behind if he doesn't study (idiomatic expression)

Simplified Characters

刀 不 磨 要 生 锈 ， 人 不 学 要 落 后

Traditional Characters

刀 不 磨 要 生 銹 ， 人 不 學 要 落 後

Pinyin

dao1 bu4 mo2 yao4 sheng1 xiu4 , ren2 bu4 xue2 yao4 luo4 hou4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

刀dao1surname Dao 不bu4(negative prefix) 磨mo2to rub 要yao4to demand 生sheng1to be born 锈xiu4to corrode ， 人ren2man 不bu4(negative prefix) 学xue2to learn 要yao4to demand 落luo4to leave out 后hou4surname Hou