Is there an english expression equivalent to 「先祖も酷ければ子孫も子孫」?

Question

It should mean something like "If the ancestors are cruel, so would their offsprings" right?

Related: http://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/870/5010 and http://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/40426/5010 — naruto, Nov 11 '16 at 04:03

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 10 '16 at 20:46

3

Hm, if you're asking about English, wouldn't the English language SE be more appropriate?

「酷い」　here does not mean "cruel", but more like "terrible" or "awful".

The closest English equivalent I can think of would be:

Like father, like son.

Though note that the English can have either a good meaning or a bad meaning, unlike the phrase you posted.

That aside, the phrase you have posted is rather uncommon. The idiom used in Japanese is:

蛙｛かえる｝の子｛こ｝は蛙｛かえる｝

Note that this phrase is used in a negative way only.

edited Nov 10 '16 at 20:46

ishikun

answered Nov 10 '16 at 19:20

Jimmy

"the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" – A.Ellett Nov 10 '16 at 19:29
Thank you. English isn't my mother language so I forget these simple things... And to A.Ellett, that's good as well, but it doesn't fit for me, thanks – holyeyeolo Nov 10 '16 at 19:35
@A.Ellett Ah, that's another good one! – Jimmy Nov 10 '16 at 19:53

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