刀不磨要生銹，人不學要落後 dāo bù mó yào shēng xiù ， rén bù xué yào luò hòu

without study you fall behind; keep learning

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened; a man will fall behind if he doesn't study (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
刀 dāo HSK 4
knife; blade; classifier for knife cuts or stabs
不 bù HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
磨 mó HSK 6
to rub; to grind; to waste time
要 yào HSK 2
to want; going to (as future auxiliary); must
生 shēng HSK 1
life; to be born; raw
銹 xiù
to rust; to corrode
人 rén HSK 1
person; people; man
不 bù HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
學 xué
to learn; to study; science
要 yào HSK 2
to want; going to (as future auxiliary); must
落 luò HSK 4
to fall or drop; to lower; to lag or fall behind
後 hòu
behind; after; later