未曾學行先學飛

Chinese

		never; not once	learn; study; science learn; study; science; ‑ology	to go; to do; capable to go; to do; capable; all right; competent; OK; to travel; temporary; to walk; will do; behaviour; conduct; a row; profession; professional	early; prior; former early; prior; former; in advance; first	learn; study; science learn; study; science; ‑ology	to fly
trad. (未曾學行先學飛)		未曾	學	行	先	學	飛
simp. (未曾学行先学飞)		未曾	学	行	先	学	飞
Literally: “to learn to fly before one can walk”.

Pronunciation

• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): Bē-chêng o̍h kiâⁿ seng o̍h pe / Bōe-chêng o̍h kiâⁿ seng o̍h poe

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• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Taipei)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bē-chêng o̍h kiâⁿ seng o̍h pe
    • Tâi-lô: Bē-tsîng o̍h kiânn seng o̍h pe
    • Phofsit Daibuun: bexzeeng oih kviaa sefng oih pef
    • IPA (Taipei): /be³³⁻¹¹ t͡siɪŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ o(ʔ)⁴⁻¹¹ kiã²⁴ siɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ o(ʔ)⁴⁻¹¹ pe⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /be²²⁻²¹ t͡siɪŋ²⁴⁻²² o(ʔ)⁴⁻²¹ kiã²⁴ siɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² o(ʔ)⁴⁻²¹ pe⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Kaohsiung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bōe-chêng o̍h kiâⁿ seng o̍h poe
    • Tâi-lô: Buē-tsîng o̍h kiânn seng o̍h pue
    • Phofsit Daibuun: boexzeeng oih kviaa sefng oih poef
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /bue³³⁻²¹ t͡siɪŋ²³⁻³³ ɤ(ʔ)⁴⁻²¹ kiã²³ siɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ ɤ(ʔ)⁴⁻²¹ pue⁴⁴/

Idiom

未曾學行先學飛

1. (Southern Min) to learn to run before one can walk

Synonyms

• (Cantonese) 未學行，先學走 / 未学行，先学走 (mei⁶ hok⁶ haang⁴, sin¹ hok⁶ zau²)
• (Hakka) 吂學行，先學走 / 吂学行，先学走

Derived terms

• 未曾學行先學飛，未曾掖種想挽瓜 / 未曾学行先学飞，未曾掖种想挽瓜 (Min Nan)