一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井绳

yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng

lit. once bitten by a snake, one is scared all one's life at the mere sight of a rope (saying)

fig. once bitten, twice shy

one

zhāo

morning

bèi

quilt

shé

variant of 蛇[she2]

yǎo

variant of 咬[yao3]

,

shí

ten

nián

grain

to be afraid

jǐng

a well

shéng

rope