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

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

(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)