Dictionary › 江山易改，本性难移

江山易改，本性难移

jiāng shān yì gǎi , běn xìng nán yí

9-character word Traditional 江山易改，本性難移

What 江山易改，本性难移 means

1. it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one's character (idiom)
2. you can't change who you are
3. Can the leopard change his spots?

The characters in 江山易改，本性难移

• 江jiāngriver
• 山shānmountain; hill; (colloquial) small bundle of straw for silkworms to spin cocoons on
• 易yìeasy; amiable; to change
• 改gǎito change; to alter; to transform
• 本běn(bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this
• 性xìngnature; character; property
• 难nándifficult (to...); problem; difficulty
• 移yíto move; to shift; to change

Example sentences

• 江山易改，本性难移。
  Jiāngshānyìgǎi, běnxìngnányí.
  A leopard never changes its spots.