蛇钻空竹竿，曲心还在
蛇鑽空竹竿，曲心還在
蛇鑽空竹竿，曲心還在
a snake in a hollow bamboo pole: its crooked heart is still there
Saying俗语俗語
Two-part saying歇后语歇後語 · Rarely used now
- Meaning
- Said of a bad person who is forced to behave but whose bad nature has not changed. Critical.
- Wordplay
- 曲 (qū, crooked) is the snake's wriggling and also a twisted, crooked mind: the snake is made to go straight but still wants to wind.
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- Simplified
-
蛇钻空竹竿，曲心还在
- Traditional (Taiwan)
-
蛇鑽空竹竿，曲心還在
- Pinyin
-
shé zuānkòng zhúgān, qūxīnháizài
- Pinyin (Taiwan)
-
shé zuānkòng zhúgān, qǔxīnháizài
- Bopomofo
-
ㄕㄜˊ ㄗㄨㄢ ㄎㄨㄥˋ ㄓㄨˊ ㄍㄢ，ㄑㄩˇ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄏㄞˊ ㄗㄞˋ
Written with
HSK 7-9 vocabulary,
at CEFR level
C1.
Words in this sentence
Where this sentence is used
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