ProverbChallenge
Arabic origin
Arabic originالملدوغ يخاف من جرة الحبل (Al-maldūgh yakhāf min jarrat al-ḥabl)
Meaning: After a bad experience, you fear anything that resembles it.
Literally: One bitten by a snake fears a dragged rope
Example: “بعد أن خدعه شريكه، صار يشك في كل عرض. الملدوغ يخاف من جرة الحبل.” — After his partner cheated him, he suspects every offer: once bitten, twice shy.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 3 more languages
English: A scalded cat fears cold water.
French: Chat échaudé craint l’eau froide (literally: A scalded cat dreads cold water)
Spanish: Gato escaldado del agua fría huye (literally: A scalded cat flees cold water)
Japanese: 羹に懲りて膾を吹く (Atsumono ni korite namasu wo fuku) (literally: Burned by hot soup, one blows on cold salad)
German: Gebranntes Kind scheut das Feuer (literally: A burnt child shuns the fire)
Italian: Gatto scottato dall'acqua calda ha paura della fredda (literally: A cat scalded by hot water fears cold water)
Portuguese: Gato escaldado de água fria tem medo (literally: A scalded cat is afraid of cold water)
Korean: 자라 보고 놀란 가슴 솥뚜껑 보고 놀란다 (Jara bogo nollan gaseum sotttukkeong bogo nollanda) (literally: A heart frightened by a turtle jumps at a pot lid)
Origin: A rope dragged along the sand moves like a snake, enough to frighten anyone who has been bitten.
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