玉不琢，不成器

Chinese
jade not; no to cut (gems) to not grow up to be a talented or useful person
trad. (玉不琢，不成器) 玉 不 琢 ， 不成器
simp. #(玉不琢，不成器) 玉 不 琢 ， 不成器

Etymology

From the Three Character Classic (三字經):

玉不琢，不成器；人不學，不知義。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
玉不琢，不成器；人不学，不知义。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Yù bù zhuó, bù chéng qì; rén bù xué, bù zhī yì. [Pinyin]
[As] a jade without chiseling will not become a useful object, a man without learning will not know the way.

Pronunciation

  • Mandarin
    • (Standard Chinese)+
      • Hanyu Pinyin: yù bù zhuó, bù chéng qì
      • Zhuyin: ㄩˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓㄨㄛˊ, ㄅㄨˋ ㄔㄥˊ ㄑㄧˋ
      • Tongyong Pinyin: yù bù jhuó, bù chéng cì
      • Wade–Giles: yü4 pu4 cho2- pu4 chʻêng2 chʻi4
      • Yale: yù bù jwó-, bù chéng chì
      • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yuh bu jwo, bu cherng chih
      • Palladius: юй бу чжо, бу чэн ци (juj bu čžo, bu čɛn ci)
      • Sinological IPA (key): /y⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂwɔ³⁵ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/
  • Cantonese
  • Min Nan
    • (Hokkien)
      • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gio̍k put tok, put sêng khì
      • Tâi-lô: gio̍k put tok, put sîng khì
      • IPA (Xiamen): /ɡiɔk̚⁴⁻³² put̚³²⁻⁴ tɔk̚³² put̚³²⁻⁴ ɕiɪŋ²⁴⁻²² kʰi²¹/
      • IPA (Quanzhou): /ɡiɔk̚²⁴⁻² put̚⁵⁻²⁴ tɔk̚⁵ put̚⁵⁻²⁴ ɕiɪŋ²⁴⁻²² kʰi⁴¹/
      • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɡiɔk̚¹²¹⁻²¹ put̚³²⁻⁵ tɔk̚³² put̚³²⁻⁵ ɕiɪŋ¹³⁻²² kʰi²¹/
      • IPA (Taipei): /ɡiɔk̚⁴⁻³² put̚³²⁻⁴ tɔk̚³² put̚³²⁻⁴ ɕiɪŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ kʰi¹¹/
      • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡiɔk̚⁴⁻³² put̚³²⁻⁴ tɔk̚³² put̚³²⁻⁴ ɕiɪŋ²³⁻³³ kʰi²¹/
    • (Teochew)
      • Peng'im: ghêg8 bug4 dog4, bug4 sêng1 ki3
      • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: ge̍k puk tok, puk seng khì
      • Sinological IPA (key): /ɡek̚⁴⁻² puk̚²⁻⁴ tok̚²⁻⁴, puk̚²⁻⁴ seŋ³³⁻²³ kʰi²¹³/

Proverb

玉不琢，不成器

  1. One must be educated and endure trials to succeed.
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