不经一事,不长一智

bù jīng yī shì , bù zhǎng yī zhì

lit. you can't gain knowledge without practical experience (idiom)

fig. wisdom only comes with experience

不

bù

no; not so

经

jīng

classics

一

yī

one

事

shì

matter

,

,

不

bù

no; not so

长

zhǎng

chief

一

yī

one

智

zhì

(literary) wise; wisdom