DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

跑了和尚，跑不了寺

Mandarin · pinyin pǎo le hé shàng , pǎo bù liǎo sì

the monk can run away, but the temple won't run with him (idiom)
you can run this time, but you'll have to come back
I'll get you sooner or later

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

跑: pǎo · run, flee, leave in hurry
了: le · to finish; particle of completed action
和: hé · harmony, peace; peaceful, calm
尚: shàng · still, yet; even; fairly, rather
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
寺: sì · court, office; temple, monastery

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Connected dictionary

6character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

跑了和尚，跑不了寺 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗