Proverbs - Refranes In English and Spanish

The word for July 2000 is: Refranes y dichos
(sayings and proverbs)

Homepage: http://www.lingolex.com/spanish.htm

Introduction

This month we present a selection of the most commonly used saying and proverbs in Spanish,
in fact this is a "refranero" (a collection of sayings or proverbs) Some of them are literally exactly the same in English and Spanish and some of them vary but have the same meaning. I have given you some notes on the meanings of the less common words.

English	Spanish
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush	más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando
it's the early bird that catches the worm early to bed and early to rise (makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise)	a quien madruga Dios lo ayuda. madrugar = to get up early
brain is better than brawn	más vale maña que fuerza. maña = skill, knack
Rome wasn't built in a day	no se ganó Zamora en una hora. (Zamora is a town in Spain. It refers to a battle)
out of sight, out of mind	ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente
one man's meat is another man's poison	nunca llueve a gusto de todos llover = to rain
one man's meat is another man's poison	lo que a uno cura a otro mata
think before you speak	antes de hablar pensar
the best things in life are free	lo que no cuesta dinero, siempre es bueno
we all make mistakes	el que tiene boca se equivoca
as you sow, so shall you reap	lo que siembres cosecharás quien siembra vientos recoge tempestades sembrar = to sow cosechar = to harvest, reap, to pick
they that live by the sword shall die by the sword	quien a hierro mata, a hierro muere hierro = iron
you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear	aunque la mona se vista de seda mona se queda mono = monkey seda = silk
you never know what you've got till it's gone	nadie sabe lo que vale el agua hasta que falta
a friend in need is a friend indeed	en el peligro se conoce el amigo
if you keep your mouth shut, you won’t put your foot in it	en boca cerrada no entran moscas
if you buy cheaply, you pay dearly	lo barato sale caro
necessity is the mother of invention	la necesidad hace maestros
let sleeping dogs lie	al perro que duerme, no lo despiertes despertar = to wake, wake up
you can’t teach an old dog new tricks	loro viejo no aprende a hablar loro = parrot
he who laughs last laughs longest	el que ríe último, ríe mejor
the cure is worse than the cause ? the solution is worse than the problem? the cure is worse than the disease?	peor es el remedio que la enfermedad
talk of the devil …(and the devil appears)	hablando del rey de Roma....... (y él que se asoma)
beauty is in the eye of the beholder love is blind	el sapo a la sapa tiénela por guapa sapo = toad
if you want a thing done well, do it yourself?	si quieres ser bien servido, sírvate a ti mismo
better late than never	más vale tarde que nunca
no cows, no cares	quien no tiene, no teme
time is money	el tiempo es oro
there's no time like the present	no hay tiempo como el presente
a stitch in time (saves nine)	una puntada a tiempo ahorra ciento stitch = puntada
better safe than sorry	más vale prevenir que curar;
don’t count your chickens (before they’re hatched)	no hay que vender la piel del oso (antes de cazarlo) oso = bear cazar = hunt
it’s no use crying over spilt milk	a lo hecho pecho
the grass is always greener on the other side	nadie está contento con su suerte
to throw the baby out with the bathwater	tirar las frutas frescas con las pochas adj: pocho = over-ripe - past it
every cloud has a silver lining	no hay mal que por bien no venga
half a loaf is better than no bread	algo es algo, peor es nada
never put off till tomorrow what you can do today	no dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoy
absence makes the heart grow fonder	la ausencia es al amor lo que al fuego el aire
when the cat’s away the mice will play	cuando el gato duerme, bailan los ratones
the end justifies the means	el fin justifica los medios
two heads are better than one	cuatro ojos ven más que dos
waste not, want not	quien no malgasta no pasa necesidades malgastar = waste
you can lead o take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink	puedes darle un consejo a alguien, pero no puedes obligarlo a que lo siga
look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves	a quien cuida la peseta nunca le falta un duro
many hands make light work	el trabajo compartido es más llevadero adj: llevadero = bearable
to put all your eggs in one basket	poner toda la carne en el asador
all that glitters is not gold	no es oro todo lo que reluce relucir = to twinkle - glitter

We hope you have enjoyed our word of the month.

Click here to go to the previous word of the month
Click here to go to the next word of the month