細漢偷挽匏，大漢偷牽牛

Chinese

		young; short	to steal; to pilfer	draw; pull; send funeral ode	bottle gourd; Lagenaria vulgaris		tall; eldest; oldest	to steal; to pilfer	lead along	ox; cow; bull
trad. (細漢偷挽匏，大漢偷牽牛)		細漢	偷	挽	匏	，	大漢	偷	牽	牛
simp. (细汉偷挽匏，大汉偷牵牛)		细汉	偷	挽	匏	，	大汉	偷	牵	牛
Literally: “stealthily picking calabashes when one is a child, stealthily leading cows when one is grown up”.

Pronunciation

• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sè-hàn thau bán pû, tōa-hàn thau khan gû

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• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Kaohsiung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sè-hàn thau bán pû, tōa-hàn thau khan gû
    • Tâi-lô: sè-hàn thau bán pû, tuā-hàn thau khan gû
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /se²¹⁻⁴¹ han²¹ tʰau⁴⁴⁻³³ ban⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ pu²³ tua³³⁻²¹ han²¹ tʰau⁴⁴⁻³³ kʰan⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡu²³/

Proverb

細漢偷挽匏，大漢偷牽牛

1. (Southern Min) one's behavior as a child will be paralleled in adulthood