A leopard can't change its spots

Definition

People cannot change their fundamental nature or character, especially their flaws or negative traits.

Etymology

This saying comes directly from the Bible, specifically Jeremiah 13:23: 'Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?' The phrase was used to illustrate the difficulty of changing one's sinful nature and has been used in English since at least the 16th century to express skepticism about personal transformation.

Kelly Says

While this proverb suggests pessimism about human change, it's interesting that modern psychology both supports and challenges it - personality traits do tend to be remarkably stable over time, yet people can develop new behaviors and coping strategies. The leopard metaphor is particularly apt because spots are indeed permanent markings, making this one of the most visually concrete proverbs in English.

Translations

AMአማርኛ
ነብር አባቶች እንዳቸው መለወጥ አይችሉም
ne-br a-ba-toch en-da-che-w te-me-le-wet a-y-chi-lu-m
ARالعربية
النمر لا يمكنه تغيير لطخاته
al-namr la yum-kin-hu ta-gh-yir la-t-kha-tah
BNবাংলা
বাঘ তার দাগগুলো পরিবর্তন করতে পারে না
bagh ta-r da-gu-lo pa-ri-bor-tan kor-te pa-re na
CACatalà
un lleopard no pot canviar les seves taques
/un ʎe.o.pɑrt no pot kən.vi.ɑr les ˈse.vəs ˈta.kəs/
CSČeština
levhart nemůže změnit své skvrny
/lɛvɦart nemuʒe zmɛɲit sve skvrny/
DADansk
en leopard kan ikke ændre sine pletter
/eŋ ˈleːopɑˀd gan ˈi kʰænˀe ˈɛnˀɐ pʰleðər/
DEDeutsch
ein Leopard kann seine Flecken nicht ändern
/aɪn ˈleːopɑrt kan zaɪnə ˈflɛkŋ̩ nɪçt ˈʔɛndən/
ELΕλληνικά
η λεοπάρδαλη δεν μπορεί να αλλάξει τις κηλίδες της
/i le.o.pɑr.ðali den bore na ala.ksi tis ki.li.ðes tis/
ESEspañol
un leopardo no puede cambiar sus manchas
un le-o-par-do no pwe-da kam-biar sus man-chas
FAفارسی
پلنگ نمی تواند لکه های خود را تغییر دهد
pa-lang na-mi-ta-vad lak-ke ha-ye khod ra ta-gh-yir de-had
FISuomi
leopardi ei voi muuttaa täpliään
/le.o.pɑr.di ei voi muut.tɑ ˈtæ.pli.æn/
FRFrançais
un léopard ne peut pas changer ses taches
/œ̃ le.o.pɑʁd nə pø pɑ ʃɑ̃ʒe se tɑʃ/
GUGU
વાઘ તેના છાપને બદલી શકતો નથી
va-gh te-na cha-pne ba-di she-ka-to na-thi
HAHA
zaki ya koma ba zai iya canza alamunsa
za-ki ya ko-ma ba zai i-ya chan-za a-la-mun-sa
HEעברית
נמר לא יכול לשנות את כתמיו
namar lo yakhol le-sha-not et kat-ma-yo
HIहिन्दी
तेंदुआ अपने धब्बों को नहीं बदल सकता
ten-du-a a-pne dhab-bon ko nahin badal sak-ta
HUMagyar
a leopárd nem változtathatja meg a foltjait
/ɒ le.o.pɑrd nem vɒltoztat.hɒt.jɒ meg ɒ fol.tjɒit/
IDBahasa Indonesia
macan tutul tidak dapat mengubah bintik-bintiknya
ma-can tu-tul ti-dak da-pat meng-u-bah bin-tik-bin-tik-nya
IGIG
leopadụ adịghị agbanwe agba nke ya
le-o-pa-du a-di-ghi ag-ba-nwe ag-ba nke ya
ITItaliano
una lepre non può cambiare le sue macchie
/u.na ˈlɛ.pre non ˈpwɔ kambja.re le ˈsue ˈmat.kje/
JA日本語
ヒョウはそのしるしを変えることができない
hyou wa so-no shi-ru-shi wo ka-e-ru ko-to ga de-ki-na-i
KKKK
леопард өз жүлдеріңді өзгерте алмайды
le-o-pard oz zhul-de-rin-di oz-ger-te al-mai-dy
KMKM
សត្វស្លាប មិនអាចផ្លាស់ប្តូរសម្បករបស់វា
sat-wa slaap min a-ch ples btoa sam-bak robah vaa
KO한국어
표범은 그 무늬를 바꿀 수 없다
pyo-beom-eun geu mu-neul-reul ba-kkeul su eop-da
MRMR
वाघ त्याच्या डागांना बदलू शकत नाही
va-gh tya-chya da-gan-na ba-dhu sha-ka-t na-hi
MSBahasa Melayu
harimau bintang tidak dapat mengubah bintik-bintiknya
ha-ri-mau bin-tang ti-dak da-pat meng-u-bah bin-tik-bin-tik-nya
MYမြန်မာ
ကျီးကန် သူ၏ အမှတ်များကို ပြောင်းလဲနိုင်တယ်
kyee-kaan thu a-hmat mya ka pyaung-lei nai-te
NLNederlands
een luipaard kan zijn vlekken niet veranderen
/eːn ˈlœypɑrt kan zɛn vlɛkən nɪt vərˈɑndərən/
NONorsk
en leopard kan ikke endre sine flekker
/eɪn leːo.pɑrd kan ikke ɛnːdɾe siːne ˈflɛkkɛr/
PAPA
ਤੇਂਦੂਆ ਆਪਣੇ ਦਾਗਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਬਦਲ ਨਹੀਂ ਸਕਦਾ
ten-du-a a-pne da-gan nu ba-dal na-hi sak-da
PLPolski
lampart nie może zmienić swoich plam
/lam.part ɲe ˈmɔʐe zmʲe.ɲiʨ ˈsfɔ.ix plam/
PTPortuguês
um leopardo não pode mudar suas manchas
um le-o-par-do nã-u po-de mu-dar su-as man-chas
RORomână
un leopard nu-și poate schimba petele
/un le.o.pard nu-și po.ate ʃkim.ba pe.te.le/
RUРусский
леопард не может изменить свои пятна
le-o-pard ne mo-zhet iz-mye-nit sv-o-i pyat-na
SVSvenska
en leopard kan inte ändra på sina fläckar
/eŋ ˈlɛopard kan int ˈɛndra po siːna ˈflɛ̂kːar/
SWKiswahili
chui hana uwezo wa kubadilisha milia yake
chu-i ha-na u-we-zo wa ku-ba-di-lis-ha mi-lia ya-ke
TAதமிழ்
சிறுத்தை அதன் புள்ளிகளை மாற்ற முடியாது
chir-ut-thai a-tha-n pu-l-li-ka-lai ma-rra mu-di-ya-thu
TEతెలుగు
చిరుతపులి దాని గుర్తులను మార్చలేదు
chi-ru-tha-pu-li da-ni gu-ru-thu-lanu ma-rr-cha-le-du
THไทย
เสือดาวไม่สามารถเปลี่ยนจุดของมัน
seua dao mai sam-kan pleen yoot kong man
TLTL
ang leopardo ay hindi makapagbabago ng mga tuldok nito
ang le-o-par-do ay hin-di ma-ka-pa-gba-ba-go ng ma-ga tuldok ni-to
TRTürkçe
bir leopar beneklerini değiştiremez
bir le-o-par be-ne-kin-le-ri de-ği-şti-re-mez
UKУкраїнська
левopard не може змінити свої плями
le-o-pard ne mo-zhe zmi-ni-ty sv-o-yi pl-ya-mi
URاردو
تیندوا اپنے دھبوں کو نہیں بدل سکتا
ten-du-a a-pne dhab-bon ko na-hin badal sak-ta
VITiếng Việt
con báo không thể thay đổi đốm của nó
kon bao khong the thay doi dom cua no
YOYO
leopadì kò lè yì í ṣe àmì
le-o-pa-di ko le yi i se a-mi
ZH中文
豹子不能改变它的斑点
bào zǐ bù néng gǎi biàn tā de bān diǎn
ZUZU
ingonyama ayikwazi ukushintsha amabomu
i-ngon-ya-ma a-yi-kwa-zi u-ku-shin-tsha a-ma-bo-mu

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