临崖立马收缰晚,船到江心补漏迟 臨崖立馬收韁晚,船到江心補漏遲 臨崖立馬收繮晚,船到江心補漏遲

reining in the horse at the cliff edge is late; patching the leak mid-river is slow

Saying俗语俗語

Proverb谚语諺語 · Widely known

Meaning
When danger is already upon you or a big mistake is made, remedies come too late, so prevent trouble beforehand. Compare "closing the stable door after the horse has bolted".
Simplified
临崖立马收缰晚,船到江心补漏迟
Traditional (Taiwan)
臨崖立馬收韁晚,船到江心補漏遲
Traditional (Hong Kong)
臨崖立馬收繮晚,船到江心補漏遲
Pinyin
lín yá lìmǎ shōu jiāng wǎn, chuándàojiāngxīnbǔlòuchí
Bopomofo
ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄧㄚˊ ㄌㄧˋ ㄇㄚˇ ㄕㄡ ㄐㄧㄤ ㄨㄢˇ,ㄔㄨㄢˊ ㄉㄠˋ ㄐㄧㄤ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄅㄨˇ ㄌㄡˋ ㄔˊ

Written with HSK 7-9 vocabulary, at CEFR level C1.

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