ProverbHuman Nature
Latin origin
Latin originThe wolf changes his coat but not his character
Meaning: Surface appearances can change, but a person's fundamental nature remains the same.
Origin: A medieval Latin proverb, lupus pilum mutat, non mentem. The Roman historian Suetonius tells a similar story of the emperor Vespasian, rebuked with the saying that the fox changes his fur but not his habits.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, and 5 more languages
French: Le loup change de poil, non de naturel (literally: The wolf changes its coat, not its nature)
Spanish: Genio y figura hasta la sepultura (literally: Character and form until the grave)
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)
Russian: Горбатого могила исправит (Gorbatogo mogila ispravit) (literally: Only the grave will straighten a hunchback)
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)
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- Ogni morte di papa Extremely rarely; once in a blue moon.
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- 鯖を読む (Saba o yomu) To fudge the numbers in your favor, especially your age.
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