玉不琢，不成器

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.]

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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

  (Pinyin): yù bù zhuó, bù chéng qì

  (Zhuyin): ㄩˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓㄨㄛˊ, ㄅㄨˋ ㄔㄥˊ ㄑㄧˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): juk⁶ bat¹ doek³, bat¹ sing⁴ hei³
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): gio̍k put tok, put sêng khì

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ghêg⁸ bug⁴ dog⁴, bug⁴ sêng¹ ki³

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• 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
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: juk⁶ bat¹ doek³, bat¹ sing⁴ hei³
    • Yale: yuhk bāt deuk, bāt sìhng hei
    • Cantonese Pinyin: juk⁹ bat⁷ doek⁸, bat⁷ sing⁴ hei³
    • Guangdong Romanization: yug⁶ bed¹ dêg³, bed¹ xing⁴ héi³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jʊk̚² pɐt̚⁵ tœːk̚³ pɐt̚⁵ sɪŋ²¹ hei̯³³/
• 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.