ProverbMoralityChinese origin

天网恢恢，疏而不漏 (Tiān wǎng huīhuī, shū ér bú lòu)

Meaning: Wrongdoers cannot escape punishment in the end.

Literally: Heaven's net is wide; loose, yet nothing slips through

Example: “他逃了十年，最后还是被抓住了。天网恢恢，疏而不漏。” — He was on the run for ten years but was caught in the end: the wheels of justice turn slowly.

Equivalents in English, Spanish, Japanese, German, Russian, and Polish

  • English: The wheels of justice turn slowly
  • Spanish: La justicia tarda pero llega (literally: Justice is slow but it arrives)
  • Japanese: 天網恢恢疎にして漏らさず (Tenmō kaikai so ni shite morasazu) (literally: Heaven's net is wide, but nothing escapes it)
  • German: Gottes Mühlen mahlen langsam, aber sicher (literally: God's mills grind slowly, but surely)
  • Russian: Бог правду видит, да не скоро скажет (Bog pravdu vidit, da ne skoro skazhet) (literally: God sees the truth but doesn't tell it soon)
  • Polish: Pan Bóg nierychliwy, ale sprawiedliwy (literally: The Lord is slow, but just)

Origin: From chapter 73 of Laozi's Tao Te Ching, where the original reads 疏而不失, loose but losing nothing; 不漏, nothing leaks through, became the usual form later.

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