Proverbs

玉不琢，不成器。人不学，不成才。
yu4 bu4 zhuo2, bu4 cheng2 qi4.
ren2 bu4 xue2, bu4 cheng2 cai2.
Meaning: Jade must be carved and polished before it becomes an ornament, man must be educated before he can achieve great things.


逆水行舟，不进则退。

ni4 shui3 xing2 zhou1, bu2 jin4 ze2 tui4.
Meaning: When rowing a boat against the current, if one does not move forward, one will definitely end up moving backwards. (Can be used to describe surviving in an increasingly competitive world.)



寸金难买寸光阴。
cun4 jin1 nan2 mai3 cun4 guang1 yin1.
Meaning: An inch of time is an inch of gold but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold.




留着青山在，不怕没柴烧。
liu2 zhe4 qing1 shan1 zai4, bu2 pa4 mei2 chai2 shao1.
Meaning: As long as the mountains remain, there's no need to fear that there'll be no firewood. (Can be used on humans; talking about as long as one is alive, there will always be new opportunities.)