Proverbs: The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, how not to repeat the fate of your parents

0 How much does a person need to insult his interlocutor? There are such figures of speech that, although they “omit”, do it so carefully, and even beautifully, that you can’t undermine it. Our ancestors knew how to do this, and today we will talk about a rather ambiguous saying, this Apple from the apple tree falls close, you can read the value a little lower. If you find our resource site worthy of attention, be sure to add it to your bookmarks.
Before continuing, I would like to recommend you some of our interesting articles on the topic of phraseological units. For example, what does the Golden Mean mean? which means On the beans; the meaning of the expression Anika-warrior; how to understand Enter into a rage, etc.
So let's continue meaning Apple from an apple tree doesn't fall far?

Apple from the apple tree- means that as parents are, so are children, that is, by parent we mean " Apple tree"and under the child" apple"


Synonym of the expression Apple from the apple tree:cut off a dog's tail - there will be no sheep; from a pig there are piglets, from a moose - moose calves; the father is a fisherman, and the children look into the water; like the tree, so is the branch; from an apple tree an apple, from a spruce tree a cone; as is the root, so is the offspring; Aspen trees will not produce oranges.

The Germans have a similar saying - " Like a tree, like a pear".

As you already understand, the proverb discussed here is used exclusively in a negative sense, in the case when it is intended to show that the child is not far from his parents.
However, when a fruit falls next to its tree, there is little surprise in this. Philosophers from ancient Rome often resorted to the phraseological unit " Same root - same fruit". It would be surprising if apple trees began to pick cherries. However, the natural property that a child is the image and likeness of his parents begins to be interpreted by people who bring their own meaning and meaning to it.

Although the literal interpretation is not always correct, for example, if Apple orchard stands on a steep mountain slope, the apples from the tree can roll very far. Essentially, this proverb reflects human prejudices that if parents are scoundrels and bastards, then the child will grow up to be the same. This is not entirely true; history knows both situations that confirm this saying and those that refute it. For example, a maniac Chikatilo, left behind a son who followed in his footsteps, whereas Henry Ford, having parents " rednecks", at the age of 16 he ran away from home and became a very rich businessman. Therefore, if we paraphrase the expression of Christ, we can say" You will know them by their spirit".

After reading this informative article, you finally understand What does an apple from an apple tree mean? does not fall far, and now you will be able to correctly interpret this expression if you encounter it again.

Everyone has heard the saying: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” but few people take the essence of what was said seriously and deeply.

After all, it’s no secret that children are in many ways similar to their parents, and this is not a matter of natural, biological similarity, but more of a social, emotional and psychological one.

The deep essence of the proverb that the apple does not fall far from the tree also applies to the birch tree, which has undertaken to nurture the apple.

Those. When an apple grows, it “inherits” the character traits, social attitudes, mentality, and often the fate of the birch tree that raised it.

To put it bluntly, happy parents raise happy children, and vice versa... And also, “good” parents a priori do not raise “bad” children... and vice versa...

Why do children repeat the fate of their parents?

Many will probably say that everyone has their own destiny, and that children, even if they inherit something from their parents, still live their own lives, not their parents’.

Yes it is. But here we are not talking about a copy of fate in order to live life one by one.

Here we are talking about the fact that a child, having unconsciously copied from his parents their attitudes about his “I”, about other people, about the world in general, as well as ways of feeling, thinking and behavior, will create for himself a similar life scenario - happy or unlucky.

And it doesn’t matter that a dad breaks his forehead by stepping on a rake, and a child breaks his head by falling from a motorcycle - the essence is the same, misfortune.

Or if the mother was happy and successful in marriage, even if in poverty, she was happy, then the daughter will find her happiness in marriage, but maybe in wealth.

Your destiny is a life scenario copied from your parents or their surrogates. But not all of life was copied down to the smallest detail, but the very essence - happiness and luck, mediocrity and “something bad” or “loser” and misfortune... Hence the saying: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”...

Well, think for yourself how happy you are now on a 10-point scale, and how happy a parent of your gender was at the same age (if there is no parent of the same gender, then someone replaces him... maybe mom plays the role of dad, or grandmother... ).

And what's interesting is, this is that the child copies the attitudes from the parent of the opposite sex - to be happy or unhappy, and from the parent of the same sex - copies how this should be done.

How to make the apple fall far from the tree?

If you are “unlucky with your parents” - in terms of their luck and happy fate - then you can “be lucky” yourself (so to speak).

And if you just want, then the saying “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” will not apply to you (if your parents are unlucky). Or vice versa - about you (in the case of a happy parental family).

Parents, of course, need to be loved, no matter what they are - parents are not chosen. And elderly parents should be treated with respect and care, to the best of their ability and ability.

And it doesn’t matter who grew the apple - a sweet and garden or sour and wild apple tree, a slender birch for luxury furniture or a dry birch for firewood, a solid oak, a trembling aspen or an arrogant baobab...

The important thing is that the apple becomes an apple, i.e. herself, and lived her own destiny, which she herself chose, and not the fate of her parents.

What is needed for this? How to live your destiny, how to build your own life scenario according to your desires, needs and capabilities? How to avoid the proverb: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”?

Very simple. You just need to want it and spend some time on it.

Breaking the effect of the proverb “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”

First What you need to do so that the proverb “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” (if the apple tree is a loser) does not apply to you is to analyze your family down to the third generation.

Those. see which of your relatives and friends (mom, dad, grandparents on both sides, even if you have never met them) have or had similar personal, emotional, psychological and life problems.

Of course, you need to understand your scenario - who you were, are and will be in life (“lucky” - a winner, “extreme” or “someone” - mediocrity or a loser and a complete loser).
That is, you need to pass the test “WHO ARE YOU IN LIFE” - three times. The first time is about the past, the second is about the present, and the third is about the future). It will be clear what to break and what to strive for.

Second, after realizing the similarity of problems with relatives and your current scenario, you need to make a list of your main problems in life, especially those that are repeated - you are constantly unlucky in something.

Third- more difficult, although easy at first glance - you need to make a list of your desires - and real ones, not fantastic ones.

The main and difficult thing here(avoiding the saying “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”)) is...

  1. compose sentences so that they are in a positive form (“not being a fool” is incorrect: correct is “being smart”),
  2. without oughts, demands and prohibitions (“quit smoking” is wrong; more correctly, “become free from tobacco”; also, “should enjoy communication - wrong; correct - “I want to have fun...”),
  3. with detailed specifics, without abstractions (I want to be happy - wrong; “I want to enjoy my relationship with my husband” - that’s better...),
  4. Well, and what is very important - in a language understandable to a 7-year-old child, i.e. without “abstruse, adult words.”

Fourth, clearly realize for yourself that in your unsuccessful scenario no one is to blame - not you, not your parents. But it is in your power, precisely in your power, to change it (parents do not need to be taught life and change).

Also, to better change your “unhappy” attitudes, you need to learn to relax and distract yourself from internal “left” thoughts and external stimuli.

Also, belly breathing helps relaxation well... it can be integrated into training...

And fifth, take the first problem in the written hierarchy (one, the most pressing, or the simplest, and not all at once) and the written desire, and begin to work by changing the saying “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” - i.e. your negative life scenario.

Specific exercises to change your loser script

So, you have completed all five points described above, and are now ready to break for yourself the saying “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” - i.e. you decided not to repeat the fate of your parents.

Don't be lazy, practice - otherwise nothing will come of it. Exercises to fulfill your real desires are just as real, and have nothing to do with parapsychology, esotericism and other nonsense.

Know for yourself that your bad luck and misfortunes are controlled by the settings in your head, and not by Fortune, which has turned its back on you.

The attitudes in the head are in the subconscious, they are perceived and stored in the form of images and pictures, so you will change them in the same way - with imaginative thinking and practical consolidation, and not with words and daydreaming.

“The apple now falls far from the tree” - step-by-step exercises:

We begin the exercises after completing the first five preparation points (see above) - remember this:

  1. We take our first desire, which is not realized in the corresponding problem - according to the list
  2. Choose a convenient place where no one will disturb you (turn off your smartphone). We relax with the help of training and breathing (links above);
  3. Once you are completely relaxed and distracted from other thoughts, immediately imagine in your mind the very problematic situation that you want to work through and not repeat. Imagine it as clearly as possible, in the smallest details. Including everything that is seen, heard, smelled, bodily and taste sensations.
  4. As soon as you vividly imagine, imagine the problem and feel a negative emotion - right here and now, in reality... So immediately “rewind” your video in your head to the beginning, where you still felt good. You can increase relaxation if you get nervous.
  5. Now again imagine the same situation in your head, but in a positive scenario - change the “ending” so that in real life a positive emotion or feeling of peace, calm and satisfaction appears.

    Experiencing a positive emotion or feeling is very important. The feeling will be caused by your vivid performance in a relaxed state.

  6. Now, with a good emotion, you can get out of a relaxed state... And do something in the present time, without thinking about the past and the future, be here and now, both soul and body.
  7. Because There were many similar situations in life regarding this one problem - i.e. failures have been repeated in the past. To consolidate the result in your head, you need basic repetition.

    Those. you need to take and also work out in your head at least a couple more similar situations - then the subconscious will remember new images and feelings about the same similar situations - and the negatives will no longer be repeated in your life...

  8. And your desire will not come true on its own, but you will fulfill it for yourself...

Proverbs and sayings can have a large number of meanings. And if so, then they are conducive to research, large and small. Ours is of minimal size, it is dedicated to the saying “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Where do proverbs and sayings come from?

Proverbs and sayings are the result of many years, or even centuries, of people’s observations of everything that happens around them: the weather, the behavior of animals and insects, plants. People watched each other, remembering and comparing.

Folk art is notable for the fact that it preserves only the most imaginative and vivid sayings for a long time. Only that which is close and understandable, that which can be seen every day, remains in the language for a long time. Naturally, people could observe the fall of apples every year, hence the saying “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Source of the saying

Plants have come up with many ways to reproduce; their offspring fly through the air, are carried by birds and animals, and swim through the water in search of a piece of suitable land. But the apple tree did not bother itself: its fruits fall near the mother tree, right under its crown and at some short distance around. You'll be lucky if some apple, blown by the wind, hits the slope and rolls back a little further. So, from one small grain, introduced by chance, an impenetrable thicket of apple trees can form. This feature was once noticed by people and turned into a saying: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

However, many fruit trees, for example, plums, cherries, and apricots, reproduce in this way. And not only fruits: nuts, oaks, lindens. Why did the saying arise specifically in connection with the apple tree? One can only assume that it was this cultivated tree that was most often found in the homeland of our famous aphorism. It was on the apple trees that the nameless, unknown author of an imperishable example of folk wisdom looked, season after season. After all, this thought is rightfully included in the golden fund called “Sayings and Proverbs.” Of course, there is also a certain poetry and even some rhythm in this phrase. Such a comparison with cherries or apricots would hardly have come to us from time immemorial, and, to be honest, we are not a southern country to be associated with apricots. This proverb is included, as it is now fashionable to say, in the corpus of texts with the title “Russian proverbs,” so it would be strange to have something other than an apple as a symbol.

The meaning of the saying

The way fruit trees, in particular apple trees, reproduce is neither good nor bad. It’s just that in the process of evolution, at some point this turned out to be the most effective way to continue the race. What is the meaning of the saying: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”? The answer is: mostly, unfortunately, negative. Such words speak about children, students, followers who repeat and aggravate the mistakes and shortcomings of their parents, teachers, and mentors. Also, the proverb is of a slightly edifying nature: the one who uses it seems to emphasize that it could not have been otherwise. And if the children did not continue the negative line of behavior, this would rather cause surprise and distrust. People about whom they say this not only cast a shadow on their reputation, but also confirm that negative traits and unpleasant actions are a family trait or a feature of the school.

Examples of using sayings

There are not only many examples of the use of this saying, they cannot be counted. Everything bad that is repeated in children and students is usually illustrated with this expression.

Is the son of a poor student a bad student? "An apple from an apple tree." Do children of alcoholics drink? The same. The daughter of a woman of easy virtue is pregnant at the age of sixteen? Again, “an apple from an apple tree.” And this expression is also used if a scientist who copied his articles word for word taught only this to his students, without giving them anything else.

But, despite the harmless method of reproduction in the apple tree, this expression is almost never used in a positive sense. Has a musician's student reached heights that remained inaccessible to the teacher? We will say: “The student has surpassed the teacher.” Have children had more successful careers than their parents? “Well done,” others will praise and will not comment on it further.

Philologist, candidate of philological sciences, poet, member of the Union of Writers of Russia.
Publication date:02/13/2019


How beautiful are the blooming apple orchards! How many expectations and dreams they evoke in the human soul! We expect that with the onset of August, every tree will bear good fruit. But this doesn't always happen. Some apples grow small, others become spoiled, and others become so sour that you want to throw them away. Why is this happening? People says: "The apple never falls far from the tree". Who is to blame if the harvest is bad, and what does this expression mean?

Meaning of the proverb

The idiom about the apple tree and apples directly concerns children and parents. Its meaning is that an evil child will not be born from a good father and mother. Children repeat the mistakes and shortcomings of their parents; the cause of any vices should be sought in the family. The proverb is used only in a negative sense, when we want to scold rather than praise someone.

For example, evil tongues will definitely say this about a girl who gave birth to a child before marriage. “Arishka has done what! The thing is familiar: her mother also gave birth to her at the age of sixteen. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Reproaches can also concern not so serious issues. An old school teacher who taught and remembers his D-student dad well will probably remember the “apple” proverb, noticing how unscrupulously his son prepares his lessons.
Sometimes conclusions about bad heredity migrate from everyday life into public life. In a figurative sense, a proverb can refer not only to blood relationship, but also to a commonality of views and belonging to the same group. For example, it is appropriate to remember the apple tree and its fruits when one ruler is replaced by another. The successor is expected to change course, but the politician’s behavior remains traditional. The people blame this on the philosophy of the party or faction to which both belong.

Origin of the expression

It is not difficult to guess that the proverb was born through everyday observations. Indeed, a ripe apple will fall next to the tree on which it grew. Our ancestors attached great importance to family education. When choosing a bride or groom, they were interested in the history of the family, finding out if there were people in the family who had disgraced themselves with laziness, rudeness, and drunkenness. Living openly, “in the world,” it was impossible to hide such details in a village or small town.

People were afraid of public condemnation, tried to behave with dignity, and raised their children in strictness. With the collapse of the community and the subsequent crisis of the family, everything changed, but the values ​​remained the same. Observing inappropriate behavior of a child, we continue to draw conclusions about problems within the family.

Why do some families, despite external prosperity, grow up to be passive children prone to idleness, while in another, despite its inferiority, kind little suns appear?

The point is the existence of barriers. The relationship between the teacher and the student develops differently. For example, good parents who indulge their only child and, as a result, lose authority in his eyes, get an egoist and a parasite. And in a dysfunctional family, the baby often grows up correctly, experiencing an aversion to evil. So it turns out that a fallen apple can roll far down the hill, which means the proverb is right, but not always.

Synonymous expressions

In Russian they say about the connection between habits in families:

  • Do not expect a good breed from a bad seed;
  • Aspen trees will not produce oranges;
  • The father is a fisherman, and the children look into the water;
  • Cut off a dog's tail and there will be no sheep;
  • A good father has good children too.

There are many expressive equivalents in foreign languages:

  • Same root, same fruit. (lat.);
  • Like the tree, so is the pear. (German);
  • As the old rooster crows, so will the young rooster. (English).

To prevent an offensive proverb from being said to you, watch yourself as strictly as you watch your children. And let, looking at you, your plump apples fall with pleasure nearby: becoming a continuation of a glorious family is not only not a shame, but also an honor!

The famous saying “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” is used in a negative sense in everyday life, thus emphasizing the negative habits and vices of the child, which his ancestors also have. As people say, the child is not far from his parents.

Sometimes, by looking at the habits of the little heir, you can see his father. Such habits are inherited by children even if they do not live together. Of course, not all children inherit bad manners.

Examples when a good person does bad, and a bad person does good. It happens that good parents have bad children, and bad parents have good children.

Chinese proverb:

One day a traveler heard a saying from a sage: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” He wondered what this could mean.

Having met another sage, he asked him:

— One man told me that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree — what could that mean?

The sage said:

- This means that you can only rely on what you have done before.

The traveler saw the reasonableness of such an interpretation, but on the way he met another sage. I decided to ask him what he thought if he had such luck.

The second sage said:

“This means that children inevitably repeat the mistakes of their own fathers.”

Having met the sage from whom he first heard such a statement, the traveler decided to ask the correct designation of his words. Recounting to him the answers of the previous sages.

The traveler asked:

- Which one interpreted it accurately?

To which I received the answer:

“I just noticed how the apple was falling, and you heard my words.”

The fruit falls next to its tree, which is not surprising.

“The same root - the same fruit,” declared the ancient Roman philosophers. Another thing would be surprising: if apricots were picked from an apple tree.

But the innate property - from every tree the fruit in its image and likeness - begins to be interpreted by a person who brings into it personal values ​​​​and his own spirit.

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