| 一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳 |
yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng |
lit. once bitten by a snake, one is scared all one's life at the mere sight of a rope (saying) / fig. once bitten, twice shy |
| 一 |
yī |
one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire; whole; all; throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit |
| 朝 |
Cháo |
abbr. for 朝鲜 Korea |
| 朝 |
cháo |
imperial or royal court / government / dynasty / reign of a sovereign or emperor / court or assembly held by a sovereign or emperor / to make a pilgrimage to / facing / towards |
| 朝 |
zhāo |
morning |
| 被 |
bèi |
quilt / to cover (with) / (literary) to suffer (a misfortune) / used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, if the doer is not mentioned, before the verb) / (since c. 2009) (sarcastic or jocular) used to indicate that the following word should be regarded as being in air quotes (as in 被旅游 to "go on a trip") |
| 蛇 |
shé |
variant of 蛇 |
| 蛇 |
shé |
snake / serpent / CL:条 |
| 蛇 |
yí |
used in 委蛇 |
| 咬 |
yǎo |
to bite / to nip |
| 咬 |
yǎo |
variant of 咬 |
| 十 |
shí |
ten / 10 |
| 年 |
Nián |
surname Nian |
| 年 |
nián |
year / CL:个 |
| 年 |
nián |
grain / harvest (old) / variant of 年 |
| 怕 |
Pà |
surname Pa |
| 怕 |
pà |
to be afraid / to fear / to dread / to be unable to endure / perhaps |
| 井 |
Jǐng |
Jing, one of the 28 constellations of Chinese astronomy / surname Jing |
| 井 |
jǐng |
a well / CL:口 / neat / orderly |
| 井绳 |
jǐng shéng |
rope for drawing water from a well |
| 绳 |
shéng |
rope / CL:根 |