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

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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 ʈ͡ʂu̯ɔ³⁵ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • 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/

Proverb

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