dāo bù mó yào shēng xiù , rén bù xué yào luò hòu
Traditional: 刀不磨要生鏽，人不學要落後
刀不磨要生锈，人不学要落后 (dāo bù mó yào shēng xiù , rén bù xué yào luò hòu) is a Chinese word meaning “(proverb) a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened; a man will fall behind if he doesn't study”.
Meanings
- 1(proverb) a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened; a man will fall behind if he doesn't study
Characters in 刀不磨要生锈，人不学要落后
刀dāo · knife; blade; single-edged sword; cutlass (CL:把[ba3])不bù · no; not so磨mó · to rub要yāo · (bound form) to demand; to coerce生shēng · to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born锈xiù · to rust人rén · person; people不bù · no; not so学xué · to learn要yāo · (bound form) to demand; to coerce落là · to leave out后hòu · empress