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English |
Spanish |
Literal Translation |
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Actions speak louder than words. |
Obras son amores, que no buenas razones. |
Deeds are love, good reasons aren't. |
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Advice when most needed is least heeded. |
El que no oye consejo no llega a viejo. |
He who hears no advice will not reach old age. |
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After the feast comes the reckoning. |
A un gustazo, un trancazo. |
To a pleasure, a blow with a club. |
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All cats are gray in the dark. |
De noche todos los gatos son pardos. |
At night all cats are brown. |
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All that glitters is not gold. |
No es oro todo lo que brilla. |
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An apple a day keeps the doctor away. |
La mejor medicina es la buena comida. |
The best medecine is good food. |
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Ask and you shall receive. |
Quien tiene lengua, a Roma llega. |
Who has a tongue, gets to Rome. |
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. |
El sapo a la sapa tiénela por muy guapa. |
The male toad finds the female toad very pretty. |
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Better late than never. |
Más vale tarde que nunca. |
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Better safe than sorry. |
Más vale precaver que tener que lamentar. |
Better to prevent than have to lament. |
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Better the devil you know than the devil you don't. |
Más vale malo conocido que bueno por conocer. |
Better known evil than good yet to know. |
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A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. |
Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando. |
Better to have bird in hand than a hundred flying. |
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Birds of a feather flock together. |
Cada quien con su cada cual. |
Each person with his each one. |
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Clean slate. |
Borrón y cuenta nueva. |
Smudge and new account. |
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A closed mouth catches no flies. |
En boca cerrada no entran moscas. |
In a closed mouth flies do not enter. |
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Clothes do not make the man. |
El hábito no hace al monje. |
The habit does not make the monk. |
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Cold hands, warm heart. |
No hay pan sin corteza. |
There is no bread without crust. |
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The devil finds work for idle hands to do. |
Cuando el diablo no tiene qué hacer, con el rabo mata
moscas. |
When the devil has nothing to do, he kills flies with
his tail. |
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Do as I say, not as I do. |
Haz lo que yo digo y no lo que yo hago. |
Do what I say and not what I do. |
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Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. |
Hacer las cuentas de la lechera. |
Do the dairymaid's accounts. |
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Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. |
A caballo regalado no se le mira el colmillo. |
Don't look a gift horse in the eyetooth. |
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Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. |
No hay que ahogarse en un vaso de agua. |
One should not drown in a glass of water. |
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Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today. |
No dejes para mañana lo que puedes hacer hoy. |
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Don't rest on your laurels. |
Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente. |
The shrimp that falls asleep, is carried off by the current. |
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Don't spread yourself too thin. |
Quien mucho abarca, poco aprieta. |
One who spreads out too much squeezes little. |
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The early bird catches the worm. |
Al que madruga Dios lo ayuda. |
God helps the one who gets up early. |
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Easier said than done. |
Del dicho al hecho hay largo trecho. |
From said to done there is a long way. |
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Easy come, easy go. |
Los dineros del sacristán, cantando se vienen y cantando se van. |
The sexton's money sing as it comes and sings as it goes. |
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Eat to live, don't live to eat. |
Come para vivir y no vivas para comer. |
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Empty vessels make the most noise. |
Mucho hablar y poco decir juntos suelen ir. |
Talking much and saying little usually go together. |
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Every cloud has a silver lining. |
No hay mal que por bien no venga. |
There's no evil that does not bring some good. |
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Familiarity breeds contempt. |
Con los años vienen los desengaños. |
With the years come the disappointments. |
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Forewarned is forearmed. |
Hombre prevenido vale por dos. |
A warned man is worth two. |
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A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
Amigo en la adversidad, es amigo de verdad. |
Friend in adversity is a real friend. |
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Give credit where credit is due. |
Al César lo que es del César y a Dios lo que es de
Dios. |
To Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs
to God. |
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A good deed is never lost. |
Haz bien y no mires a quién. |
Do good and do not look to whom. |
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Good neighbors are hard to find. |
No hay mejor hermano que un buen vecino al lado. |
There is no better brother than a good neighbor. |
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The greatest scholars are not the best preachers. |
Unos dicen lo que saben y otros saben lo que dicen. |
Some say what they know and others know what they say. |
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Healthy mind, healthy body. |
Mente sana en cuerpo sano. |
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He that knows nothing doubts nothing. |
Quien nada sabe, de nada duda. |
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He who laughs last laughs best. |
El que ríe último ríe mejor. |
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His bark is worse than his bite. |
Perro ladrador, poco mordedor. |
Barking dog, little biting. |
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Honesty is the best policy. |
Vale más una verdad amarga que muchas mentiras dulces. |
Better a bitter truth than many sweet lies. |
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If you lie down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas. |
El que anda con lobos, a aullar se enseña. |
He who walks with wolves learns to howl. |
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In unity there's strength. |
En la unión está la fuerza. |
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It's a labor of love. |
Todo sea por el amor al arte. |
All be for the love of art. |
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Jack of all trades, master of none. |
Aprendiz de todo y maestro de nada. |
Apprentice of everything and master of nothing. |
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Keep your chin up. |
A mal tiempo buena cara. |
To bad weather, good face. |
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Kill two birds with one stone. |
Matar dos pájaros de un tiro. |
Kill two birds with one shot. |
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Knowledge is power. |
El saber no ocupa lugar. |
Knowledge does not occupy space. |
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Know your neighbor from the books he reads. |
Si a tu vecino quieres conocer, averigua qué libros
suele leer. |
If you want to know your neighbor, find out which books he usually
reads. |
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Let sleeping dogs lie. |
Agua que no has de beber, déjala correr. |
Water that you shall not drink, let it run. |
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Like father, like son. |
De tal palo, tal astilla. |
From such wood, such splinter. |
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Live within your means. |
Vive como rico y ahorrarás como pobre. |
Live like a rich man and you will save like a poor one. |
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Look before you leap. |
Antes que te cases, mira lo que haces. |
Before you marry, look at what you do. |
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Love is blind. |
El amor es ciego. |
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Man does not live on bread alone. |
No sólo de pan vive el hombre. |
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A man is known by the company he keeps. |
Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres. |
Tell me who you walk with and I'll tell you who you are. |
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Man is the master of his destiny. |
Cada quien es el arquitecto de su propio destino. |
Each one is the architect of his own destiny. |
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Misery loves company. |
Como el perro del hortelano, ni come ni deja comer. |
The farmer's dog neither eats nor allows others to
eat. |
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A moment on the lips, a lifetime in the heart. |
El que dice lo que quiere, oye lo que no quiere. |
He who says what he wants, hears what he does not want. |
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Money talks. |
Con dinero baila el perro. |
With money the dog dances. |
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Necessity is the mother of invention. |
La experiencia es la madre de ciencia. |
Experience is the mother of science. |
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Nobody's perfect. |
Al mejor escribano se le va un borrón. |
Even the best writer slips up with a smudge. |
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Nothing is certain but death and taxes. |
Todo tiene solución, menos la muerte. |
Everything has a solution, except death. |
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Once bitten twice shy. |
El gato escaldado del agua fría huye. |
The scalded cat flees from cold water. |
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One good turn deserves another. |
Amor con amor se paga. |
Love is paid with love. |
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One man's trash is another man's treasure. |
El piso de uno es el techo de otro. |
The floor of one is the ceiling of another. |
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One swallow does not a summer make. |
Una golondrina no hace el verano. |
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Out of sight, out of mind. |
Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente. |
Eyes that do not see, heart that does not feel. |
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Out of the mouths of babes. |
Los niños y los locos dicen las verdades. |
Children and crazy people tell truths. |
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The pen is mightier than the sword. |
Más vale maña que fuerza. |
Better cunning than force. |
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A picture is worth a thousand words. |
Vale más una imagen que mil palabras. |
A picture is worth more than a thousand words. |
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A place for everything and everything in its place. |
Un lugar para cada cosa y cada cosa en su lugar. |
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Possession is nine-tenths of the law. |
El que se fue a Sevilla, perdió la silla. |
He who went to Seville lost his chair. |
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The road to hell is paved with good intentions. |
El infierno está lleno de buenas propósitos, y el cielo de buenas
obras. |
Hell is full of good intentions, and heaven with good works. |
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Rome wasn't built in a day. |
En una hora no se ganó Zamora. |
Zamora didn't win in an hour. |
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Seeing is believing. |
Ver y creer. |
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Sleep on it. |
Antes de hacer nada, consúltalo con la almohada. |
Before doing anything, consult your pillow. |
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Something is better than nothing. |
Algo es algo, peor es nada. |
Something is something, nothing is worse. |
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The squeaky wheel gets the grease. |
Niño que no llora no mama. |
Child who does not cry does not nurse. |
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There's more than one way to skin a cat. |
Todos los caminos llevan a Roma. |
All the roads go to Rome. |
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There's no honor among thieves. |
Piensa el ladrón que todos son de su condición. |
The thief thinks that all are of his condition. |
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There's none so deaf as those who will not hear. |
No hay peor sordo que el que no quiere oír. |
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To each his own. |
Sobre gustos no hay nada escrito. |
There is nothing written about taste. |
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Too many cooks spoil the broth. |
Son muchas manos en un plato. |
There are a lot of hands on one plate. |
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The walls have ears. |
Las paredes oyen. |
The walls hear. |
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A watched pot never boils. |
No por mucho madrugar amanece más temprano. |
For the early riser the dawn comes not the sooner.
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What's done is done. |
A lo hecho, pecho. |
To what's done, courage. |
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When in Rome, do as the Romans do. |
Allá donde fueres, haz como vieres. |
There where you go, do as you see. |
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When one door shuts, another opens. |
Donde una puerta se cierra, otra se abre. |
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The woman is the key of the house. |
Casa sin madre, río sin cauce. |
A house without a mother, a river without a course. |
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You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. |
Aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se queda. |
Even if a monkey dresses in silk, it's still a monkey. |
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You can't see the forest for the trees. |
Los árboles no están dejando ver el bosque. |
The trees don't let you see the woods. |
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You can't turn back the clock. |
El diente miente, la cana engaña, pero la arruga no
ofrece duda. |
The tooth lies, the gray hair fools, but the wrinkle
offers no doubt. |
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You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. |
Más moscas se cogen con una gota de miel que con un
cuarto de vinagre. |
More flies are caught with a drop of honey than with a
quart of vinegar. |
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You reap what you sow. |
Quien siembra vientos recoge tempestados. |
He who sows winds reaps tempests. |
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You're never too late to learn. |
Nunca es tarde para aprender. |
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You've made your bed, now lie in it. |
Quien mala cama hace, en ella se yace. |
He who makes a bad bad lies in it. |
Refranes españoles - Spanish Proverbs