唔怕生壞命，最怕改壞名

Chinese

		hold in mouth; bite; (Cant.) no/not	to be afraid; to fear	to be born; to give birth; life to be born; to give birth; life; to grow; student; raw	bad; evil; rotten bad; evil; rotten; spoiled	life; fate		(the) most; ‑est	to be afraid; to fear	to change; to alter; to transform to change; to alter; to transform; to correct	bad; evil; rotten bad; evil; rotten; spoiled	name; fame; to describe name; fame; to describe; place
trad. (唔怕生壞命，最怕改壞名)		唔	怕	生	壞	命	，	最	怕	改	壞	名
simp. (唔怕生坏命，最怕改坏名)		唔	怕	生	坏	命	，	最	怕	改	坏	名
Literally: “fear not born to be unlucky, but fear most for giving one a bad name”.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): m⁴ paa³ saang¹ waai⁶ meng⁶, zeoi³ paa³ goi² waai⁶ meng^4-2

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: m⁴ paa³ saang¹ waai⁶ meng⁶, zeoi³ paa³ goi² waai⁶ meng^4-2
    • Yale: m̀h pa sāang waaih mehng, jeui pa gói waaih méng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: m⁴ paa³ saang¹ waai⁶ meng⁶, dzoey³ paa³ goi² waai⁶ meng^4-2
    • Guangdong Romanization: m⁴ pa³ sang¹ wai⁶ méng⁶, zêu³ pa³ goi² wai⁶ méng^4-2
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /m̩²¹ pʰaː³³ saːŋ⁵⁵ waːi̯²² mɛːŋ²² t͡sɵy̯³³ pʰaː³³ kɔːi̯³⁵ waːi̯²² mɛːŋ²¹⁻³⁵/

Proverb

唔怕生壞命，最怕改壞名

1. (Cantonese) Giving a bad name to a child may affect his/her fate

See also

• (Latin) nomen est omen