The best-known French proverbs
The top 3 according to 5 votes from people: Little by little, the bird builds its nest. · A scalded cat fears cold water. · Everything comes to those who wait.. (Updated Aug 14, 2023.)
The proverbs French people grow up hearing, with their meaning and, where there is one, their English equivalent. Chosen from proverb collections (Wikiquote, Wiktionary) and rankings of the most used.
Automatically translated (original in Français). See the original
Top 15
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1
Little by little, the bird builds its nest.
With patience you get there in the end. English: slow and steady wins the race.
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2
A scalded cat fears cold water.
After a bad experience you're wary even of harmless things. English: once bitten, twice shy.
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3
Everything comes to those who wait.
Patience is always rewarded in the end. Same idea in English.
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4
The habit doesn't make the monk.
Don't judge by appearances. English: don't judge a book by its cover.
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5
Don't sell the bear's skin before you've killed it.
Don't celebrate an uncertain success too soon; from a La Fontaine fable. English: don't count your chickens before they hatch.
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6
After the rain, fine weather.
Hard times always pass. English: every cloud has a silver lining.
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7
He who sows the wind reaps the storm.
Whoever stirs up trouble suffers the consequences, multiplied; from the Bible (Hosea).
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8
The dogs bark, the caravan moves on.
Let the critics talk and carry on regardless.
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9
Never say «Fountain, I'll never drink your water».
Never say never: one day you may need what you now reject.
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10
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
If you keep moving on, you never build anything up. Same in English.
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11
Paris wasn't built in a day.
Great things take time. English: Rome wasn't built in a day.
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12
He who goes hunting loses his place.
Leave your spot even for a moment and someone else takes it.
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13
When the cat's away, the mice dance.
When the boss is away, everyone takes advantage. English: when the cat's away, the mice will play.
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14
Appetite comes with eating.
The more you have, the more you want; the phrase comes from Rabelais (Gargantua, 1534).
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15
Far from the eyes, far from the heart.
Distance makes you forget the people you love. English: out of sight, out of mind.
Candidates
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16
Better late than never.
Better to do things late than not at all. Same in English.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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Comments (2)
« Qui va à la chasse perd sa place », la phrase de toutes les cours de récré 😂
Ma grand-mère disait toujours « Petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid ».