“Proverbs and sayings”

“A proverb is a short well-known expression of popular wisdom that states a general truth or gives advice”.

“A saying is a well-known expression, or a remark often made in usual human activity”.

However, if we translate literally all of these metaphorical expressions, most of them do not have the same meaning in both languages, English and Spanish, but with the usual practice of humanity, many people of different countries and cultures used them with the same purpose.

Here we show a list of the most common proverbs and sayings:

English	Spanish
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush	Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando
A stitch in time saves nine	Más vale prevenir que lamentar
A word is enough to the wise	A buen entendedor, pocas palabras
Actions speak louder than words	Los hechos valen más que mil palabras Del dicho al hecho hay un mucho trecho
All that glitters is not gold	Todo lo que brilla no es oro
Appearances are deceptive Looks are deceiving	Las apariencias engañan
Barking dogs never bite	Perro que ladra no muerde
Better late than never	Más vale tarde que nunca
Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know	Más vale malo conocido que bueno por conocer
Birds of a feather flock together	Dios los cría y ellos se juntan
Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth	A caballo regalado no se le mira el diente
Chip off the old block	De tal palo, tal astilla
Do what is right, come what may	Haz siempre lo correcto
Early to bed, early to rise, makes the man healthy, wealthy and wise	A quien madruga, Dios lo ayuda
Every cloud has a silver lining	No hay mal que por bien no venga
God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb	Dios aprieta pero no ahoga
Half a loaf is better than none	Algo es algo, peor es nada
Hunt with cats and you catch only rats	Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres
It never rains, but it pours	Las desgracias nunca vienen solas
It's no good crying over spilt milk	A lo hecho, pecho No hay que llorar sobre la leche derramada
It's the last straw that breaks the camel's back	Es la gota que colma el vaso
Two in distress makes sorrow less	Las penas compartidas saben a menos
Variety is the spice of life	En la variedad está el gusto
When there's a will, there's a way	Querer es poder
While the cat's away, the mice will play	Cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan
You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours	Hoy por ti, mañana por mí
Nothing ventured, nothing gained	Quien no arriesga, no gana
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence	Lo mejor siempre lo tiene el otro
As soon as one goes out the window, another comes in the door	A rey muerto, rey puesto
Bear and forbear	La mejor felicidad es la conformidad
Take no notice of the stupid things people say	A palabras necias, oídos sordos
What the boss says goes	Donde manda capitán, no manda marinero
Married people need a home of their own	El casado casa quiere

Many traditional proverbs and sayings are still in general use today and their usage is totally common, but for some people the interpretation of these may be more subjective than for others.

So, if you want to share with us some proverbs and sayings, please do not hesitate to leave your comment. Thank you and have fun!

Amanda Gonzales.