tiên học lễ, hậu học văn

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 先學禮後學文

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [tiən˧˧ hawk͡p̚˧˨ʔ le˦ˀ˥ həw˧˨ʔ hawk͡p̚˧˨ʔ van˧˧]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [tiəŋ˧˧ hawk͡p̚˨˩ʔ lej˧˨ həw˨˩ʔ hawk͡p̚˨˩ʔ vaŋ˧˧]
  • (Saigon) IPA(key): [tiəŋ˧˧ hawk͡p̚˨˩˨ lej˨˩˦ həw˨˩˨ hawk͡p̚˨˩˨ vaŋ˧˧] ~ [tiəŋ˧˧ hawk͡p̚˨˩˨ lej˨˩˦ həw˨˩˨ hawk͡p̚˨˩˨ jaŋ˧˧]
  • Phonetic spelling: tiên học lễ hậu học văn

Proverb

tiên học lễ, hậu học văn

  1. (literal) learn manners first, then learn literature
  2. (figurative) learn your manners before you learn anything else; it doesn't matter how smart you are, you have to know your manners first and foremost
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