The apple doesn't fall far from the tree means that children are often like their parents. People say it when a child resembles a parent in character, habits or choice of career. It can be praise, or it can sound ironic when the similarity lies in someone's faults. There is also a version with never: the apple never falls far from the tree. In an essay, write children often take after their parents instead.
When would you say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree?
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the apple doesn't fall far from the tree; the apple never falls far from the tree
- Her dad is a chef and she's just opened her own café: the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
- Mark is always late, just like his father, so I guess the apple never falls far from the tree.
What changed
First versionAnna became a teacher like her mum. The apple doesn't fall far from the apple tree.
RevisionAnna became a teacher like her mum. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Apple tree may seem more precise, but the proverb has a fixed form with just the tree: it is already clear which tree is meant. Only this part was changed.
The proverb sums up something you have noticed. To simply say that someone resembles a parent, the verb take after is enough: Sam really takes after his mother. The idiom run in the family is about a trait that many members of a family share: Musical talent runs in our family.
Your turn
Lily's parents are both architects, and now she's studying architecture too. Well, ___!
Show the answer
the apple doesn't fall far from the tree — Lily has chosen the same career as both her parents, which is exactly when people say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Practice makes perfect means that skill comes with practice, and it says nothing about being like your parents.
Write about someone you know who is like one of their parents. Say which parent and how they are similar, and finish with the proverb.
My friend Dima can fix anything at home, just like his dad. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
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