兔子不吃窝边草

Traditional form:

兔子不吃窩邊草

Pinyin (reading):

tùzibùchīwōbiāncǎo

Definitions:

• lit. a rabbit never eats the grass beside its own burrow (idiom)
• fig. even a scoundrel does not do harm in his immediate neighborhood

Characters:

• 兔 - rabbit, hare
• 子 - son, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thing
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 吃 - to eat; to drink; to suffer, to endure, to bear
• 窝 - cave, den, nest; hiding place; measure word for small animals
• 边 - border, edge, margin, side
• 草 - grass, herbs; straw, thatch

Traditional characters:

• 兔 - rabbit, hare
• 子 - son, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thing
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 吃 - to eat; to drink; to suffer, to endure, to bear
• 窩 - cave, den, nest; hiding place; measure word for small animals
• 邊 - border, edge, margin, side
• 草 - grass, herbs; straw, thatch