小时了了，大未必佳 xiǎo shí liǎo liǎo ， dà wèi bì jiā

clever child, not always successful adult

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. being bright at an early age does not necessarily bring success upon growing up (proverb)

Characters

Character Meaning
小 xiǎo HSK 1
small; young; tiny
时 shí HSK 1
time; when; o'clock
了 liǎo HSK 1
(completed action marker)
了 liǎo HSK 1
(completed action marker)
大 dà HSK 1
big; large; great
未 wèi HSK 5
not yet; not; have not
必 bì HSK 3
must; necessarily; certainly
佳 jiā HSK 6
good; fine; beautiful