Early Bird

The early bird gets the worm. In another language it sounds like this: Zao Qi De Niao You Chong Chi.

Or how about You reap what you sow: Yi Fen Xin Qin, Yi Fen Shou Huo.


The first saying is just the English saying translated into Chinese. The second saying is actually an English approximation of the Chinese saying. The word for word translation is 1 % hard work brings 1% harvest.


Both of these Chinese phrases are easy enough to understand.

But this phrase is the one I had trouble understanding. Yi Nian Zhi Ji Zai Yu Chun, Yi Tian Zhi Ji Zai Yu Chen. My teachers told me that the meaning is something like-the year is started right in the spring, a day is started right in the morning.

It took me about 3 hours to finally work my brain around it. It comes from the village and a farmer mentality. If you are lazy in the spring the rest of your year will be bad so you have to work hard in the spring and the rest of your year will be good.

I am not sure if I totally understand it-but it is more clear now.

One of my teachers says that all three phrases are similar but do not carry the exact meaning behind them. All of them deal with being lazy or hard working but each one is slightly different.