What
are proverbs? (collected)
Every culture has a collection of wise sayings that offer advice about how to
live your life. These sayings are called "proverbs".
How
can you use proverbs to learn English?
It's good to know the really common English proverbs because
you hear them come up in conversation all the time. Sometimes people say the
entire proverb to give advice to a friend. More often, someone will say just
part of a proverb like this:
You know what they
say: when the going gets tough...
(Read #5 below to learn the rest of this proverb and what it
means.)
Learning proverbs can also help you to understand the way
that people in English-speaking cultures think about the world.
Proverbs can also give you good example
sentences which you can memorize and use as models for building your
own sentences.
The
most important English Proverbs
This is a list of some of the most important and well-known
English proverbs. Below each one, there's a simple explanation.
The meanings of some of these phrases have shifted over the
years, so a proverb might have originally had a different meaning than the one
I explain.
"Two
wrongs don't make a right."
When someone
has done something bad to you, trying to get revenge will only make things
worse.
"The
pen is mightier than the sword."
Trying to
convince people with ideas and words is more effective than trying to force
people to do what you want.
"When
in Rome, do as the Romans."
Tweet This!Act the way
that the people around you are acting. This phrase might come in handy when
you're traveling abroad notice that people do things differently than you're
used to.
"The squeaky wheel gets the grease."
Tweet This!You can get
better service if you complain about something. If you wait patiently, no one's
going to help you.
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
Tweet This!Strong people
don't give up when they come across challenges. They just work harder.
"No man is an island."
Tweet This!You can't
live completely independently. Everyone needs help from other people.
"Fortune favors the bold."
Tweet This!People who
bravely go after what they want are more successful than people who try to live
safely.
"People who live in glass houses should not throw
stones."
Tweet This!Don't
criticize other people if you're not perfect yourself.
"Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."
Tweet This!Bad things
might happen, so be prepared.
"Better late than never."
Tweet This!It's best to
do something on time. But if you can't do it on time, do it late.
"Birds of a feather flock together."
Tweet This!People like
to spend time with others who are similar to them.
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
Tweet This!If you have
an enemy, pretend to be friends with them instead of openly fighting with them.
That way you can watch them carefully and figure out what they're planning.
"A picture is worth a thousand words."
Tweet This!Pictures
convey emotions and messages better than written or spoken explanations. That's
why PhraseMix has illustrations :)
"There's no such thing as a free lunch."
Tweet This!Things that
are offered for free always have a hidden cost.
"There's no place like home."
Tweet This!Your own home
is the most comfortable place to be.
"Discretion is the greater part of valor."
Tweet This!Sometimes
it's important to know when to give up and run away, instead of always acting
brave and maybe getting hurt.
"The early bird catches the worm."
Tweet This!You should
wake up and start work early if you want to succeed.
"Never look a gift horse in the mouth."
Tweet This!If someone
offers you a gift, don't question it.
"You can't make an omelet without breaking a few
eggs."
Tweet This!When you try
to do something great, you'll probably make a few people annoyed or angry.
Don't worry about those people; just focus on the good results.
"God helps those who help themselves."
Tweet This!Don't just
wait for good things to happen to you. Work hard to achieve your goals.
"You can't always get what you want."
Tweet This!Don't whine
and complain if you don't get what you wanted.
"Cleanliness is next to godliness."
Tweet This!Be clean. God
likes that.
"A watched pot never boils."
Tweet This!If something
takes time to finish, don't watch it too closely because it will seem like it's
taking forever.
"Beggars can't be choosers."
Tweet This!If you're
asking for a favor from someone else, you have to take whatever they give you.
"Actions speak louder than words."
Tweet This!Just saying
that you'll do something doesn't mean much. Actually doing it is harder and
more meaningful.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Tweet This!Don't try to
improve something that already works fairly well. You'll probably end up
causing new problems.
"Practice makes perfect."
Tweet This!You have to practice
a skill a lot to become good at it.
"Too many cooks spoil the broth."
Tweet This!When there
are too many people trying to lead and give their opinions, it's confusing and
leads to bad results. Jobs and projects should have one or two strong leaders.
"Easy come, easy go."
Tweet This!When you get
money quickly, like by winning it, it's easy to spend it or lose it quickly as
well.
"Don't bite the hand that feeds you."
Tweet This!If someone's
paying you or helping you out, you have to be careful not to make them angry or
say bad things about them.
"All good things must come to an end."
Tweet This!You can't
keep having good luck or fun forever; eventually it will stop.
"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
Tweet This!When you try
to change someone's behavior and it doesn't work, you might have to change
instead. For example, if you're trying to get your classmates to focus on
studying but they want to party, maybe you should just party with them.
"One man's trash is another man's treasure."
Tweet This!Different
people have different ideas about what's valuable.
"There's no time like the present."
Tweet This!If you need
to do something, don't wait until later. Do it now.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Tweet This!Different
people have different ideas about what's beautiful.
"Necessity is the mother of invention."
Tweet This!When you're
really in need, you think of creative solutions to your problems.
"A penny saved is a penny earned."
Tweet This!Save your
money. Saving money is just like making money.
"Familiarity breeds contempt."
Tweet This!When you're
around someone for too long, you get tired of them and annoyed by them.
"You can't judge a book by its cover."
Tweet This!Things
sometimes look different than they really are. A restaurant that looks old and
small might have amazing food, for example.
"Good things come to those who wait."
Tweet This!Be patient.
Eventually something good will happen to you.
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket."
Tweet This!Have a backup
plan. Don't risk all of your money or time in one plan.
"Two heads are better than one."
Tweet This!When two
people cooperate with each other, they come up with better ideas.
"The grass is always greener on the other side of the
hill."
Tweet This!People tend
to want whatever they don't have.
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto
you."
Tweet This!Don't do mean
things to people.
"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link."
Tweet This!If one member
of a team doesn't perform well, the whole team will fail.
"Honesty is the best policy."
Tweet This!Don't lie.
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
Tweet This!Sometimes
it's good to be away from your partner, because it makes you want to see each
other again.
"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him
drink."
Tweet This!If you try to
help someone, but they don't take your advice or offers, give up. You can't force
someone to accept your help.
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch."
Tweet This!Your plans
might not work out, so don't start thinking about what you'll do after you
succeed. Wait until you've already succeeded, and then you can think about what
to do next.
"If you want something done right, you have to do it
yourself."
Tweet This!Don't trust
other people to do important things for you. You have to do things yourself to
control the quality of the results.
"A broken clock is right twice a day."
When an old clock stops working, it shows one specific time but
doesn't move. So once in the day and once at night, the clock is pointing to
the correct time. In the same way, even a person who's not very smart can
sometimes be correct by accident.
"A friend in need is a friend indeed."
If someone helps you when you're in trouble, that person is a
true friend.
"A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Sometimes when a person knows a little bit about something, they
feel like they're an expert. Because they feel like an expert, they try to do
things that they shouldn't and they mess everything up.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single
step."
Some things, like learning to speak English fluently, take a
really long time. It might seem like too much work. But the only way to achieve
your goals is to start working now.
"All is fair in love and war."
In love and romance, you sometimes do things that aren't very
nice. For example, you might break up with someone or steal another person's
partner. This phrase means that that's OK.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
You can't work all of the time. You have to relax as well.
"Better safe than sorry."
You should be careful, even if it seems like it's not necessary.
The consequences if something goes wrong are much worse than wasting a little
time and effort by being careful.
"Better the devil you know than the one you don't."
When you have a choice between two bad things, it's safer to
pick the bad thing that you've already experienced. The other bad thing might
be worse.
"Don't judge a man until you have walked a mile in his
shoes."
Sometimes people criticize each other. But it's not fair to
criticize someone else if you haven't had the same experiences.
"Don't put the cart before the horse."
Pay attention to what's most important. Don't let things which
aren't as important take up all of your time and attention.
"Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk."
You shouldn't brag about being able to do something if you can't
actually do it.
"Don't throw out the baby with the bath water."
When you're trying to get rid of something bad, you might
accidentally get rid of the good things that are connected with it as well.
Don't do that.
"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy,
wealthy and wise."
This is a quotation from the famous American inventor and
diplomat Benjamin Franklin. It means it's healthy and smart to go to sleep
early and wake up early.
"Every cloud has a silver lining."
When something bad happens to you, don't get too upset. There's
usually something good associated with any bad experience. For example, if you
get fired from your job, it might push you to get a better job instead.
"Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man how to
fish, he eats for a lifetime."
Don't try to help people by just giving them things. The result
will be temporary. If you want to help someone long-term, teach them how to do
things on their own.
"Great minds think alike."
Smart people often have the same ideas. Say this when someone
has the same smart idea that you have.
"Haste makes waste."
When you try to work too quickly, you make mistakes. That can
waste time, money, or materials. So slow down.
"Hindsight is 20/20"
It's easy to know what you should have done in the past, but
making correct decisions is harder in the moment. This phrase means that you
shouldn't judge someone's past decisions based on the information you know now.
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."
Keep working hard and trying to succeed, even if you fail at
first.
"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride."
Don't spend a lot of time wishing for things. Wishes are
useless. Instead of wishing, you should work hard to achieve your goals.
"If you snooze, you lose."
You have to act quickly to get the things you want.
"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything
at all."
Don't say mean things about other people.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the
problem."
Don't just complain about problems that you see. Do something to
solve the problems.
"It's no use crying over spilled milk."
If you break something, lose money, etc., don't get too upset
about it. It's already happened, so getting upset isn't useful.
"It's not over 'till the fat lady sings."
Say this in a competition or game. When other people think that
the result has already been decided, but you're not ready to admit that it's
finished, use this phrase.
"Jack of all trades, master of none."
Someone who is good at a lot of different skills is usually not
very good at any of them.
"Knowledge is power."
You should try to learn a lot. Knowing more things makes you
more powerful.
"Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas."
If you associate with dishonest people, bad things will happen
to you.
"Look before you leap."
Make decisions carefully. Don't make a decision without thinking
about it and researching it carefully.
"Measure twice, cut once."
Once you've made some decisions, it's hard to change it. Think
carefully before making a decision.
"Misery loves company."
People who are unhappy want to make other people unhappy too.
"Never put off till (until) tomorrow what you can do
today."
Don't be lazy. If you have some work that you need to do, do it
now. Don't wait to do it later.
"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely."
When people get power, they always do mean, dishonest things. We
shouldn't allow anyone to have too much power.
"Rome wasn't built in a day."
Doing important work takes a long time. Be patient.
"Slow and steady wins the race."
You shouldn't use all of your energy at the beginning of a
project. Work slowly so that you won't run out of energy quickly.
"Still waters run deep."
People who don't talk a lot sometimes have really interesting
thoughts.
"Strike while the iron is hot."
When you have a good opportunity, go for it. Don't wait for too
long.
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
Children are very similar to their parents.
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
What you want or intend to do doesn't matter. Your actions
matter. Simply wanting to do the right thing isn't enough; you have to actually
do the right thing.
"The best way to a man's heart is through his
stomach."
Men love women who can cook well.
"There's no such thing as bad publicity."
When people talk about a business, it's good for the business,
even if they're saying bad things about it.
"Time is money."
Wasting time is expensive, so hurry up!
"Two is company, three is a crowd."
You say this when you want to be alone with someone (often
because you are romantically interested in them) but someone else is also with
you. In other words, you want the third person to go away.
"What goes around comes around."
If you do bad things to other people, bad things will happen to
you. On the other hand, good things will happen to you if you do good things to
other people.
"What goes up must come down."
Nothing can continue to increase forever. Everything that grows
or rises will shrink or fall eventually.
"What's good for the goose is good for the gander."
A goose is a type of bird. A gander is the male version of that
bird. So this phrase means that things which are good for women are also good
for men, and vice versa.
"You can catch more flies with honey than with
vinegar."
To get what you want, be nice to people. Don't yell at them or
be mean.
"You can't have your cake and eat it too."
This means that you can't have everything you want. There are
trade-offs in life. You may also hear people say that you can have your cake and eat it too.
"You can't teach an old dog new tricks."
Older people don't change their habits easily.
"You reap what you sow."
Your actions have consequences. When you do good things, good
things happen to you. When you do bad things, bad things happen to you.
So make yourself some flash cards and try memorizing some of
these proverbs! Also check out the original post which explains the absolute most important proverbs in the English language.
