English and Spanish Proverbs: Cultural Equivalents
Posted on Dec 4, 2025 in Spanish
English and Spanish Proverbs: A Comparative List
Don’t Wash Your Dirty Linen in Public
Spanish Equivalent:
Airear/Sacar los trapos sucios.A Drowning Man Will Clutch at a Straw
Spanish Equivalent:
Agarrarse a un clavo ardiendo.Early to Bed, Early to Rise…
Spanish Equivalent:
Al que madruga, Dios le ayuda.The Early Bird Catches the Worm
Related concept.
Don’t Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill
Spanish Equivalent:
Hacer una montaña de un grano de arena.Don’t Have Too Many Irons in the Fire
Spanish
Equivalent:
El que mucho abarca poco aprieta.A Jack of All Trades Is Master of None
Related concept:
Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew.Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Are Hatched
Spanish Equivalent:
No vendas la piel del oso antes de cazarlo.
Variation:
Catch Your Bear Before You Sell Its Skin.Do As You Would Be Done By (The Golden Rule)
Spanish Equivalent:
No hagas a los demás lo que no quieres que te hagan.
Related concept:
Let Us Not Be Hasty.Discontent Is the First Step in Progress
Meaning:
Aprender de los errores propios.Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Spanish Equivalent:
Una acción vale más que mil palabras.
Variation:
Deeds, Not Words.The Cowl Does Not Make the Monk
Spanish Equivalent:
El hábito no hace al monje.
Related:
Never Judge by Appearances.Clothes Do Not Make the Man
Spanish Equivalent:
Aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se queda.
Contrary Meaning:
Fine Feathers Make Fine Birds / The Tailor Makes the Man.Cast Not the First Stone
Spanish Equivalent:
El que esté libre de pecado que lance la primera piedra.The Bull Must Be Taken by the Horns
Spanish Equivalent:
Agarrar al toro por los cuernos.Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Spanish Equivalent:
Dios los crea y ellos se juntan.A Bird in the Hand Is Worth Two in the Bush
Spanish Equivalent:
Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando.
Variation:
Better an Egg Today Than a Hen Tomorrow.All Good Things Come to an End
Spanish Equivalent:
Todo lo bueno tiene un final/llega a su fin.
Variation:
The Best of Friends Must Part.Never Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth
Spanish Equivalent:
A caballo regalado no le mires los dientes.
Related:
Beggars Must Not Be Choosers.Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder
Spanish Equivalent:
Para los gustos están hechos los colores.
Variation:
There Is No Disputing About Tastes.As You Sow, So Shall You Reap
Spanish Equivalent:
Así como sembráis, así cosecharéis.Proverbs Starting with B through L
Barking Dogs Seldom Bite
Spanish Equivalent:
Perro ladrador, poco mordedor.The End Justifies the Means
Spanish Equivalent:
El fin (no) justifica los medios.There Is No Place Like Home
Spanish Equivalent:
Hogar, dulce hogar.
Variation:
East or West, Home Is Best.Every Horse Thinks Its Own Pack Is Heaviest
Meaning:
Cada uno piensa que su carga es la más pesada.The Eye Is Bigger Than the Belly
Spanish Equivalent:
Come más por los ojos que por la boca.Familiarity Breeds Contempt
Spanish Equivalent:
Donde hay confianza da asco.
Variation:
Respect Is Greater from a Distance.Forbidden Fruit Is the Sweetest
Spanish Equivalent:
La fruta prohibida es la más apetecida/dulce.
Note: The phrase
Too Much Curiosity Lost Paradise is a separate concept.
A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed
Spanish Equivalent:
Los amigos de verdad son los que te ayudan en la adversidad.
Related:
Prosperity Makes Friends, Adversity Tries Them.Give Knaves an Inch and They Will Take a Yard
Spanish Equivalent:
Dale la mano y te cogerá el brazo.God Helps Those Who Help Themselves
Spanish Equivalent:
A Dios rogando y con el mazo dando.The Golden Age Was Never the Present Age
Spanish Equivalent:
Todo tiempo pasado fue mejor.Haste Makes Waste
Spanish Equivalent:
Cuanta más prisa, más risa.
Variation:
More Haste, Less Speed.He Is Rich That Has Few Wants
Spanish Equivalent:
No es más rico el que más tiene, sino el que menos necesita.He Laughs Best Who Laughs Last
Spanish Equivalent:
El que ríe el último ríe mejor.Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining
Spanish Equivalent provided in source:
Mientras hay vida, hay esperanza. (Note: This is usually translated as “Where there is life, there is hope.”)
It Is Good Fishing in Troubled Waters
Spanish Equivalent:
En aguas revueltas, ganancia de pescadores.It Is No Use Crying Over Spilt Milk
Spanish Equivalent:
Agua pasada no mueve molino.What’s Done Cannot Be Undone
Spanish Equivalent:
A lo hecho, pecho.It Takes Two to Make a Quarrel
Spanish Equivalent:
Dos no discuten/se pegan si uno no quiere.The Last Straw Breaks a Camel’s Back
Spanish Equivalent:
Fue la gota que colmó el vaso.
Variation:
The Last Drop Makes the Cup Run Over.Life Is Short and Time Is Swift (Carpe Diem)
Related concepts:
Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May.Like Father, Like Son
Spanish Equivalent:
De tal palo, tal astilla.
Variation:
What Is Bred in the Bone Will Never Come Out of the Flesh.
