<p>I would say your <em>"What comes around, goes around."</em> is a good translation. Another idiom you can use is <em>"You reap what you sow."</em> The only small drawback with both is that they don't necessarily imply suffering justice/reprisal for criminal activity, as the Chinese phrase does. I say <em>small</em> drawback however, because with context that shouldn't generally be a problem.</p>

<p>A non-idiomatic translation could be: "When you lead a life of crime, sooner or later you have to pay your debts."</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-27T02:59:16.933Z
2014-07-27T03:10:01.200Z
2014-07-27T03:10:01.200Z
Semaphore
<p>Guilt will be punished sooner or later.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-29T21:26:20.033Z
I cannot see why there is a -1.
Xiaoge Su
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-27T00:22:28.287Z
2014-07-27T00:29:52.770Z
2014-07-27T00:29:52.770Z
Asterion
<p>What's a good translation for:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>出来混的, 迟早要还的</p>
</blockquote>

<p>What comes around, goes around?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-27T03:27:34.917Z
"还" (repay) refers to both "guilt you committed" and "favors other people did for you".
Henry HO
<translation>
Translation; "出来混的，迟早要还的"
# Translation; "出来混的，迟早要还的"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-07-26)

What's a good translation for:

> 出来混的, 迟早要还的

What comes around, goes around?

**Tags:** translation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: "还" (repay) refers to both "guilt you committed" and "favors other people did for you".  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-07-27. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

I would say your *"What comes around, goes around."* is a good translation. Another idiom you can use is *"You reap what you sow."* The only small drawback with both is that they don't necessarily imply suffering justice/reprisal for criminal activity, as the Chinese phrase does. I say *small* drawback however, because with context that shouldn't generally be a problem.

A non-idiomatic translation could be: "When you lead a life of crime, sooner or later you have to pay your debts."


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-07-27. Score: 0

Guilt will be punished sooner or later.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: I cannot see why there is a -1.  

---

