the apple does not fall far from the tree

English

Alternative forms

• apple does not fall far from the stem
• apple does not fall far from the trunk
• apple never falls far from the tree

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Proverb

the apple does not fall far from the tree

1. (idiomatic) A child grows up to be similar to its parents, both in behavior and in physical characteristics.
   • 1842, Frederika Bremer, chapter 10, in E. A. Freidlaender, transl., The Neighbours:

     It is impossible to look at Madam Rhen, without at once making the conclusion that she is pleasantness, hospitality, and loquacity itself; nor can one look upon her daughter Renetta without thinking, "the apple does not fall far from the tree!"

   • 1978 July 3, Dr. Isador Rosenfeld, “Doctor Asks Patient ‘Where The Action Is’”, in Pittsburgh Press, retrieved 16 October 2010, page C1:

     It's important that I know what diseases affect other members of your immediate family, because "the apple does not fall far from the tree."

Translations

a child is similar to its parents

• Afrikaans: die appel val nie ver van die boom af nie (af) (literally “the apple doesn't fall far from the tree”)
• Bulgarian: крушата не пада по-далеч от дървото (krušata ne pada po-daleč ot dǎrvoto)
• Catalan: els testos s'assemblen a les olles
• Cebuano: walay man kardaba mamunga og tundan (literally “no kardaba banana trees bear tundan bananas”)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 有其父必有其子 (zh) (yǒu qí fù bì yǒu qí zǐ), 虎父無犬子／虎父无犬子 (zh) (hǔfù wú quǎnzǐ), 子肖其父 (zǐ xiāo qí fù, literally “the son is like his father”)

• Czech: jablko nepadá daleko od stromu (cs)
• Danish: æblet falder ikke langt fra stammen
• Dutch: een appel valt niet ver van de boom (nl)
• Esperanto: ne falas frukto malproksime de l'arbo
• Estonian: käbi ei kuku kännust kaugele
• Finnish: ei omena kauas puusta putoa, ei omena puusta kauas putoa, omena ei putoa kauas puusta
• French: les chiens ne font pas des chats (fr) (literally “dogs don't beget cats”), la pomme ne tombe jamais loin de l’arbre (fr)
• Georgian: კვიცი გვარზე ხტისო (ḳvici gvarze xṭiso), დედა ნახე, მამა ნახე, შვილი ისე გამონახე (deda naxe, mama naxe, švili ise gamonaxe)
• German: der Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Stamm (de)
• Greek: το μήλο κάτω απ' τη μηλιά θα πέσει (to mílo káto ap' ti miliá tha pései)
• Hebrew: התפוח לא נופל רחוק מהעץ (he)
• Hungarian: nem esik messze az alma a fájától (hu)
• Icelandic: sjaldan fellur eplið langt frá eikinni (is) (literally “the apple seldom falls far from the oak”), eplið fellur sjaldan langt frá eikinni (literally “the apple seldom falls far from the oak”)
• Italian: la mela non cade lontano dall'albero
• Japanese: 蛙の子は蛙 (ja) (かえるのこはかえる, kaeru no ko wa kaeru, literally “a frog's child is a frog”)
• Khmer: ស្លឹកឈើជ្រុះមិនឆ្ងាយពីគល់ (slək cʰəə cruh mɨn cŋaay pii kʊəl)
• Korean: 아이는 부모를 닮는다. (aineun bumoreul damneunda.)
• Lithuanian: obuolys nuo obels netoli terieda
• Macedonian: крушата под круша паѓа (krušata pod kruša paǵa)
• Malay: ke mana tumpahnya kuah kalau tidak ke nasi (literally “where will the sauce be poured if not on the rice”)
• Navajo: bilasáana tsikʼidę́ę́ʼ naaltsʼiʼgo, doo nízaadi naaltsʼíid da
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: eplet faller ikke langt fra stammen (no), være sin far/mor opp ad dage

• Polish: niedaleko pada jabłko od jabłoni (pl)
• Portuguese: filho de peixe, peixinho é (pt) (literally “a fish's son is a little fish”), a fruta não cai longe do pé (literally “the fruit doesn't fall far from its tree”)
• Romanian: așchia nu sare departe de trunchi, ce se naște din pisică, șoareci mănâncă
• Russian: я́блоко от я́блони недалеко́ па́дает (ru) (jábloko ot jábloni nedalekó pádajet)
• Serbo-Croatian: iver ne pada daleko od klade, jabuka ne pada daleko od stabla
• Slovak: jablko nepadá ďaleko od stromu, jablko nespadne ďaleko od stromu
• Slovene: jabolko ne pade daleč od drevesa (sl)
• Spanish: de tal palo, tal astilla (es)
• Swedish: äpplet faller inte långt från trädet (sv)
• Tagalog: kung ano ang puno, siya ang bunga
• Thai: ลูกไม้ย่อมหล่นไม่ไกลต้น (lôok máai yôm lòn mâi glai dtôn)
• Turkish: armut dibine düşer

See also

• chip off the old block
• birds of a feather flock together
• like father, like son
• the nut does not fall far from the tree
• a wild goose never laid a tame egg
• like attracts like
• cut from the same cloth

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 15.