Proverb- Korea

“? ?? ???? ???.

Nat nokko kiyuk-ja do morun-da.

One doesn’t know the “?(a Korean alphabet)“  even when looking at a sickle.“

My dad said he thinks he learned this proverb in high school from one of his teachers. My dad said that this proverb refers to someone who is ignorant. The sickle looks like the korean character?. It is saying that even when you are looking at the character, you don’t know what the character is. My said the main point of this proverb to teach kids to not be ignorant and to be aware of their surroundings

My dad has told me this proverb many times. To me, it mostly means to be aware of my surroundings. I really don’t exactly know what it means but I just know that it is suppose to teach people about ignorant. It talks about an ignorant person who can’t tell a Korean character when it is in front of him.

Proverbs- China

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shì shàng wú nán shì zh? pà y?u x?n rén

world on without difficult circumstances, only fear have heart people

On this world there exists no such impossible tasks, they fear only those with perseverance.

Vicky told me that she learned this proverb in elementary school when she was still in Hong Kong. Her Chinese school teacher taught her this proverb. She said that this proverb means that if you have like faith in something then there aren’t like any difficult situations that you can’t overcome. As long as you have “heart” then you can overcome anything. She said that people usually say this proverb when someone is stuck in a situation and feel hopeless. In a personal experience, Vicky said that there was this time when she was hiking with a group of people. They had gotten lost and could not find their way back. People in her group were getting scared but the leader said this proverb and calmed everyone down. They eventually found their way back.

I personally have never heard proverb. However, I have heard of many similar proverbs underlying the meaning of never giving up. One proverb that this Chinese proverb reminds me of is “there is a will, then there is a way”. This is very similar because as long as you try, there is a way to succeed. This saying is often said in inspiration moments. I’ve seen many sports moments in movies where the losing team’s coach gives an inspiration speech about there always being a way to come out victorious. This proverb is used to inspire hope in people.

Proverb- China

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shu? néng zài zh?u, yì néng fù zh?u

water can support boat , and can tip-over boat

Not only can water float a boat, it can sink it also

When Vicky was younger her mother taught her this proverb. She told her that water is really powerful. Water can do you good but also bad. She told Vicky this to teach her that there are always two sides of everything. Don’t just listen to one side of the story. You need to be fair and listen to both sides of the story. You should not always judge everything that one tells you. You need to know the whole story and then take a stand.

This proverb makes a lot of sense. The moral of the story is that there always is another side to everything. You have to listen to both side of a story before you take a position or else you can possibly make a mistake. This kind of reminds me of yin and yang; two opposite sides.

Proverbs- China

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y? yán jì ch?, sì m? nán zhu?

One word already out, four horses hard chase

When something has been said, a team of four horses cannot overtake it.

She told me that she learned this proverb from her school teacher when she was younger. She said that this proverb comes from a story about a king. When a king said an order, the order is executed immediately. Like, when the king orders the army to go to war. The messenger goes out and spreads the word. The king’s word spreads very fast, just like wild fire. It spreads so fast that even horses cannot over take the word. She said basically the moral of the story is to be careful of what you say. You have to think twice before you say something. Word can spread very fast. So once you say it, you cannot take it back.

I have heard proverbs like this many times. One lesson that father insist that take to my heart is his lesson on thinking before speaking. He would always tell me to think twice or maybe even three times before I say something. It was not because I said things freely but it so to instill this lesson into my brain. He told me that I had to be responsible for my actions; including my words. He said that once sometime leaves my mouth; I cannot take it back. He also told me not to make empty promises; to make sure I can keep the promises before I actually make the promises.

Proverb- China

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Zhi yao yau hen xin, tie chu mo cheng zhen

Only have perseverance; iron pillar can be worn down to a needle.

“My mom told me this to prevent me from giving up. I used to give up a lot. My mom told me a story to tell me the lesson. That there was this really famous / renown poet; an ancient Chinese poet called Li Bai. And when Li bai was young, he failed his exam as a scholar many times, and he decided that he was going to give up because he thought that he had no talent for it. Then, while he was walking back home, he saw an old woman sitting by the road wearing down an iron pillar, and Li Bai asked the old woman what she was doing, and she said that she is trying to make the iron pillar into a small sewing needle. And Li bai thought it was impossible and told her to give up. After a month, he saw her again and she showed him the needle and she told him that because she had perseverance, that’s why she could do it. And so, Li Bai took her words and he started to study again. The next time he took the scholar exam, he passed it.” –Vicky

This proverb has the same moral as a famous fable; The Hare and the Tortoise. Both stories convey the message of perseverance. It teaches the life of lesson of always persevering which will lead to success. I have heard many other stories and proverbs of always preserving.