不打不成器
bù​dǎ​bù​chéng​qì

spare the rod and spoil the child

  • created sense approved 不打不成器 · bù​dǎ​bù​chéng​qì · spare the rod and spoil the child — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    不打不成器

    bù​dǎ​bù​chéng​qì

    spare the rod and spoil the child

    (idiom) a person can only be molded into something useful through strict discipline and training

    不 (literal) → 不 · bù · not 打 (literal) → 打 · dǎ · to hit 不 (literal) → 不 · bù · not 成器 (literal) → 成器 · chéng​qì · to become useful

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense