Level 6 · Lesson 14

谚语和俗话
Proverbs and sayings

俗话说：活到老，学到老。

A proverb states a general truth in two balanced halves — and 俗话说 is how you quote one.

听 · Listen

从长城回来
 安娜 —  李明，上个星期我去长城了。以前我看过很多照片，可是站在长城上跟看照片很不一样。 
Li Ming, I went to the Great Wall last week. I'd seen plenty of photos before, but standing up there is nothing like looking at photos.  
 李明 —  俗话说，百闻不如一见。闻就是听：听一百个人说，也不如你去看一看。 
As the saying goes, a hundred hearings are not worth one seeing. 闻 means 'hear': a hundred people telling you is still not as good as going to look for yourself.  
 安娜 —  这就是经验吧。 
That's what experience means, I suppose.  
 李明 —  对。谚语常常有两半，两半一样长，说的是大家都懂的道理。 
Right. A proverb usually comes in two halves of the same length, and says something everyone already accepts.  
 安娜 —  我奶奶今年七十岁了，还在学英语。 
My grandmother is seventy this year and she's still learning English.  
 李明 —  活到老，学到老！这句话说的就是她。 
Live till old, learn till old! That saying is about her exactly.  
 安娜 —  我也想有这个习惯。每天学一点儿，习惯了就不累了。 
I'd like that habit too. A little every day — once you're used to it, it isn't tiring.  
 李明 —  熟能生巧。你已经有经验了。 
Practice makes perfect. You've got the experience already.  

讲解 · Explanation

俗话说：早睡早起身体好。

A 谚语 is a whole sentence, and it stands on its own — that is what separates it from a 成语, which is four characters used inside your sentence, and from a 歇后语, which needs its second half supplied. To quote one you put 俗话说 in front and then say it: 俗话说，早睡早起身体好. 俗话 means the common way of putting things, so 俗话说 is close to 'as people say'. You never argue with the proverb itself; you quote it and let it do the arguing.

活到老，学到老。

Look at the shape: 活到老 and 学到老 have the same three characters of frame and one different character inside. 到老 means all the way to old age, so it is 'live till old, learn till old'. This balance is the ordinary Chinese way to make something sound settled and true, and you will meet it again in 早睡早起身体好 and in 百闻不如一见. When you quote it, keep the pause between the halves — the balance is half the point.

百闻不如一见。A不如B，就是A没有B好。

闻 is the old written word for 听, so the two halves are 'a hundred hearings' against 'one seeing'. The joint is 不如: A 不如 B says A does not come up to B, which is the same comparison you already make with 没有 — 我不如他 = 我没有他好. It is a proverb about experience, and you use it when someone has finally seen a thing for themselves: 你去过了才知道，百闻不如一见 (nǐ qù guo le cái zhīdào, bǎi wén bùrú yí jiàn).

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
俗话	common saying	俗话说…… quotes a proverb
活到老，学到老	live till old, learn till old
百闻不如一见	seeing once beats hearing a hundred times	闻 = 听
不如	not as good as	A不如B = A没有B好
经验	experience	有经验, 一点儿经验
习惯	habit; to be used to	好习惯; 习惯了

练习 · Practice

我爷爷八十岁了，还每天看书。俗话说：______。 Which proverb fits: an eighty-year-old who still reads every day?

你看了很多中国的照片，可是没去过中国。你朋友说：______。 Which proverb fits: plenty of photos, but you have never been there?

______说，早睡早起身体好。 Fill in the two-syllable word that introduces a quoted proverb.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'As the saying goes, live till old, learn till old.'

俗话、谚语、经验、习惯、不如 Match each word to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

你的国家有什么谚语？先说中文的意思，再说一个你们的。

Say two things aloud. First quote a Chinese one with its frame and use it about someone you know: 俗话说，活到老，学到老。我奶奶七十岁了，还在学新东西 (súhuà shuō, huó dào lǎo, xué dào lǎo; wǒ nǎinai qīshí suì le, hái zài xué xīn dōngxi). Then take a proverb from your own language, say what it means in Chinese in one sentence, and open it the same way: 我们那儿有一句俗话，意思是…… (wǒmen nàr yǒu yí jù súhuà, yìsi shì …). Keep the two halves balanced, and pause in the middle.