布和纸怕什么

What Are Cloth And Paper Afraid Of

     提问：布和纸怕什么？

   回答：布怕一万，纸怕万一。

   原因：不(布)怕一万，只(纸)怕万一。

   Question:What are cloth and paper afraid of?

   Answer:cloth fear “ten thousand” and paper fear “just in case”

   Reason:Chinese proverb-不怕一万，只怕万一

If you listened to my reading carefully, I think you must have noticed that the answer sounds like the reason. So, this joke is once again about the similar pronunciations.

Let’s look at the new words first.

Now, we know that “布is afraid of 一万 and 纸 is afraid of 万一” comes from the chinese proverb 不 faer 一万，只 fear 万一。

And because 一万 and 万一 consist of the two totally same word but different order, so our ancestor use 一万 as a contrast to finally emphasize 万一.

Well,if you just want to know the joke’s meaning, then that’s all. But if you’re interested in the meaning of the proverb, you can continue the record.

“不怕一万，只怕万一” is used to be an advice which tells about be sure about success, never relax your vigilance and ensure everything goes well. For example, your friend is driving you to have a picnic, and now, the car is moving through the forest, you want your friend to fasten the belt,But he thinks it’s unnecessary in such a  queit and open areas. Then you could warn him“不怕一万，只怕万一”

                                                              Hokey