ProverbHuman NatureRussian origin

Горбатого могила исправит (Gorbatogo mogila ispravit)

Meaning: Some people never change.

Literally: Only the grave will straighten a hunchback

Example: “Он опять обманул — горбатого могила исправит.” — He's lied again: a leopard can't change its spots.

Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 6 more languages

  • English: A leopard can't change its spots
  • French: Chassez le naturel, il revient au galop (literally: Chase away nature, it comes back galloping)
  • Spanish: Genio y figura hasta la sepultura (literally: Character and form until the grave)
  • Japanese: 三つ子の魂百まで (Mitsugo no tamashii hyaku made) (literally: The soul of a three-year-old lasts until a hundred)
  • German: Die Katze lässt das Mausen nicht (literally: The cat will not give up catching mice)
  • Italian: Il lupo perde il pelo ma non il vizio (literally: The wolf loses its fur but not its vice)
  • Dutch: Een vos verliest wel zijn haren, maar niet zijn streken (literally: A fox loses its hair but not its tricks)
  • Polish: Natura ciągnie wilka do lasu (literally: Nature pulls the wolf to the forest)
  • Chinese: 江山易改，本性难移 (Jiāngshān yì gǎi, běnxìng nán yí) (literally: Rivers and mountains change easily; nature hardly)
  • Arabic: الطبع يغلب التطبع (Aṭ-ṭabʿ yaghlib at-taṭabbuʿ) (literally: Nature beats nurture)
  • Turkish: Huylu huyundan vazgeçmez (literally: A person of habit won't give up his habit)

On the map

What never changes?

The same idea in 23 versions, colored by the picture each one uses. Each country shows the version in its main language.

World map: spots and fur (English, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Romanian, Serbo-Croatian); animals (German, Polish, Hungarian, Hindi and Urdu, Malay, Korean, Vietnamese); crooked for life (Russian, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico), Portuguese (Brazil)); nature itself (French, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Turkish, Bengali).

Download the full map with every saying (PNG)

11 more languages on the map

  • Hebrew הֲיַהֲפֹךְ … וְנָמֵר חֲבַרְבֻּרֹתָיו (Hayahafokh … ve-namer ḥavarburotav)“Can the leopard change its spots?”Source: Jeremiah 13:23, where the English proverb comes from
  • Romanian Lupul își schimbă părul, dar năravul ba“The wolf changes its fur, but not its bad habits”Source: Dicționarul limbii române literare contemporane (1955–57) and CADE (1926–31), via dexonline
  • Serbo-Croatian Vuk dlaku mijenja, ali ćud nikada“The wolf changes its coat, but never its temper”Source: Wiktionary
  • Hungarian Kutyából nem lesz szalonna“You can't make bacon out of a dog”Source: Wiktionary; Daily News Hungary
  • Hindi and Urdu कुत्ते की दुम बारह बरस नलकी में रखी, फिर भी टेढ़ी (Kutte kī dum bārah baras nalkī meṉ rakhī, phir bhī ṭeṛhī)“Keep a dog's tail in a tube for twelve years: it still comes out crooked”Source: Rekhta dictionary
  • Malay Habis minyak sepasu, ekor anjing diurut tiada akan lurus“A whole jar of oil used up, and the dog's tail still won't straighten”Source: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
  • Korean 제 버릇 개 줄까 (Je beoreut gae julkka)“Would you give your habit away to a dog?”Source: Wiktionary; Korean wiki entry on habits
  • Vietnamese Ngựa quen đường cũ“The horse knows its old road”Source: VietJack; Viet Nam News
  • Spanish (Mexico) Árbol que nace torcido jamás su tronco endereza“A tree born crooked never straightens its trunk”Source: USC Digital Folklore Archives
  • Portuguese (Brazil) Pau que nasce torto morre torto“A stick born crooked dies crooked”Source: Significados (Brazilian reference site)
  • Bengali কয়লা ধুলে ময়লা যায় না (Koyla dhule moyla jay na)“Washing coal won't wash away its dirt”Source: Satt Academy (Bangladesh exam reference)

Origin: A grim folk image: only the grave will straighten a hunchback's back.

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