諺語 · a single proverb
狗不嫌家貧
Simplified: 狗不嫌家贫
What does 狗不嫌家貧 (gǒu bù xián jiā pín) mean?
狗不嫌家貧 (gǒu bù xián jiā pín) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語). Word for word it reads "a dog does not scorn a poor home." In use it means: Loyalty does not weigh a home by its wealth; it stays for love rather than for gain. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dog.
Literally: "a dog does not scorn a poor home."
The reading
You do not love people only in their good seasons. When a home grows lean or a friend grows hard to reach, the part of you that stays looks like foolishness from far away and reads, up close, as the steadiest loyalty there is.
The story
This is a folk proverb, usually paired with its twin that a child does not scorn an ugly mother: a dog does not scorn a poor home. Its image is the animal that stays by the lean house for love rather than gain, and it is used to praise a loyalty that does not weigh a place or a person by their fortune.
When a home grows lean or a friend grows hard to reach, notice the part of you that wants to leave for a richer table. Stay for the bond rather than the gain, because the loyalty that looks like foolishness from far off reads, up close, as the steadiest thing you have.
What kind of proverb it is
Source folk proverb; paired with 子不嫌母醜
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Home, Family & Roots, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rabbit, and Year of the Rat.
Questions
Is 狗不嫌家貧 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 狗不嫌家貧 (gǒu bù xián jiā pín) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語), and it comes from folk proverb; paired with 子不嫌母醜. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 狗不嫌家貧?
In Mandarin it is gǒu bù xián jiā pín. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 狗不嫌家貧 aloud in Mandarin.