Dutch proverbs

A proverb is a pithy expression stating wisdom believed to be true by the majority of the population. Contrary to a saying, the proverb is always phrased the same way.

A

 * "Wie a zegt moet ook b zeggen."
 * Literally: "Whoever says A, must also say B"
 * English equivalent: In for a penny, in for a pound.
 * Source for English:
 * Source for English:


 * Aan de vruchten kent men den boom.
 * English equivalent: A tree is known by its fruit.


 * Aanval is de beste verdediging.
 * English equivalent: The best defence is a good offence.
 * "You are more likely to win if you take the initiative and make an attack rather than preparing to defend yourself."
 * Source for meaning:


 * Acht is meer dan duizend.
 * English equivalent: Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.
 * "Eight [homonym 'careful attention' and 'eight'] is more than a thousand."


 * Al draagt een aap een gouden ring, het is en blijft een lelijk ding.
 * English equivalent: A golden bit does not make the horse any better.
 * Source:


 * Als de duivel oud is, wil hij monnik worden. Als de duivel ziek is, wil hij heremiet worden.
 * "If the devil is old, he wants to become a monk"


 * Als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen op tafel.
 * English equivalent: When the cat's away, the mice will play''
 * When the 'boss' isn't there, the people make a mess of it.


 * Als het spel op zijn best is, moet men eindigen.
 * English equivalent: Leave a jest when it pleases you best.


 * Als men den wolf tot schaapherder maakt, is de kudde in groote gevaar.
 * English equivalent: He sets the fox to keep his geese.


 * Afwisseling van spijs doet eten.
 * Literally: "Variety of food makes you eat"
 * English equivalent: Variety pleases.
 * Source:


 * Alle beetjes helpen.
 * English equivalent: Every little helps.
 * "All contributions, however small, are of use."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:


 * Alle waar is naar zijn geld.
 * English equivalent: Everything is worth its price.


 * ''Alles heeft zijn reden.'
 * English equivalent: Every why has a wherefore.
 * "Everything has an underlying reason."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:


 * Als de berg niet tot Mohammed wil komen dan moet Mohammed naar de berg gaan.
 * English equivalent: If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain.
 * "If you cannot get what you want, you must adapt yourself to the circumstances or adopt a different approach."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:
 * Source:


 * Als je hem een vinger geeft, neemt hij de hele hand.
 * Literally: "If you give him a finger, he will take the whole hand"
 * English equivalent: Give him an inch he will take a yard.
 * Source:


 * Als elk voor zijn huis veegt, zo worden alle straten schoon.
 * English equivalent: Everyone should sweep before his own door.
 * "Every man has some reminiscences which he would not tell to everyone, but only to his friends. He has others which he would not reveal even to his friends, but only to himself, and that in secret. But finally there are still others which a man is even afraid to tell himself, and every decent man has a considerable number of such things stored away. That is, one can even say that the more decent he is, the greater the number of such things in his mind."
 * Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes From the Underground (1864)


 * De ratten verlaten het zinkende schip.
 * English equivalent: Rats desert a sinking ship.
 * A leader or organization in trouble will quickly be abandoned.


 * Alles komt op zijn tijd.
 * English equivalent. He that can have patience can have what he will; Patience is a remedy for every sorrow.

B

 * Behandel anderen zoals je zelf wil behandelt worden.
 * “Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world.”
 * Belofte maakt schuld.
 * "They give promise to our ear, and break it to our hope."
 * William Shakespeare, Macbeth (1603)


 * Beter alleen dan in kwaad gezelschap.
 * It is better to be alone than to be in bad company.
 * Source:


 * Beter een half ei dan een lege dop.
 * English equivalent: Half a loaf is better than no bread.
 * "'We must be grateful for what we get, even if it is less than we desire."
 * Source for meaning:


 * Beter één vogel in de hand dan tien in de lucht.
 * Better is one bird in the hand than ten in the air.
 * English equivalent: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
 * "Something you have for certain now is of more value than something better you may get, especially if you risk losing what you have in order to get it."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:
 * Source:


 * Beter hard geblazen, dan de mond gebrand.
 * Better to have blown hard, than to have a burned mouth.
 * English equivalent: Better safe than sorry.


 * ‘’Beter laat dan nooit.’’
 * English equivalent: Better late than never.
 * "It is better that somebody arrives or something happens later than expected or desired, than not at all."


 * Beter voorkomen dan genezen.
 * English equivalent: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
 * Source:


 * Bezint eer gij begint.
 * English equivalent: Look before you leap.


 * Bij nacht zijn alle katten grauw.
 * English equivalent: At night all cats are grey.


 * Blaffende honden bijten niet.
 * Barking dogs don't bite.
 * English equivalent: Barking dogs seldom bite.
 * People who make the most or the loudest threats are the least likely to take action.
 * Source for meaning:
 * Source:

D

 * De appel valt niet ver van de boom.
 * English equivalent: The apple does not fall far from the tree.
 * "Children observe daily and — in their behaviour — often follow the example of their parents."
 * Source for proverbs and meaning:


 * De afwezigen krijgen altijd de schuld.
 * English equivalent: The absent are always in the wrong.


 * De baard maakt geen wijsgeer; anders was er de bok goed aan.
 * English equivalent: If the beard were all, the goat might preach.


 * De baas wordt altijdt het slechtst bediend.


 * De beste zwemmers verdrinken meest, en de beste klimmers breken meest den hals.
 * English equivalent: The best swimmers often drown.


 * De draad breekt daar hij zwakst is.
 * English equivalent: A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
 * "A weak part or member will affect the success or effectiveness of the whole."
 * Source for meaning:

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring: There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain, And drinking largely sobers us again."
 * De duivel heeft het vragen uitgevonden.
 * The devil invented questioning.
 * English equivalent: A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
 * "A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing;
 * Alexander Pope, "An Essay on Criticism", (1709)


 * "De eene nagel drift den anderen uit."
 * English equivalent: One nail drives out another.
 * "As one nail drives out another, So the remembrance of my former love Is by a newer object quite forgotten."
 * William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice (1592)


 * De eer gelijkt de schaduw: die volgt dengenen, die ze vliedt ,en vliedt dengenen, die ze volgt.
 * English equivalent: Follow glory and it will flee, flee glory and it will follow thee.


 * De eersten zullen de laatsten zijn.
 * English equivalent: The last will be first, and the first last.
 * "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
 * The Bible: Book of Matthew


 * De geschiedenis herhaalt zich.
 * English equivalent: History repeats itself.


 * De gestadige drup holt de steen.
 * English equivalent: A constant drip wears the stone.
 * "A drop hollows out the stone by falling not twice, but many times; so too is a person made wise by reading not two, but many books."
 * (Giordano Bruno, Il Candelaio)


 * De grote vissen eten de kleine.
 * English equivalent: People are like fish; the big ones devour the small.
 * "Small organizations or insignificant people tend to be swallowed up or destroyed by those that are greater and more powerful."
 * Source for meaning:


 * De tijden veranderen, en wj veranderen met hen.
 * English equivalent: Times change and we are changed with them.
 * "The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them."
 * George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman (1903)


 * De mens wikt, maar God beschikt.
 * English equivalent: Man proposes but God disposes.


 * Wie eerst komt, wie eerst maalt.
 * English equivalent: First come, first served.


 * Die mij bemint, bemint ook mijn hond.
 * English equivalent: Love me, love my dog.


 * Die op eens anders schotel wacht eet dikwijls kwalijk.
 * English equivalent: He that waits on another man's trencher, makes many a late dinner.


 * De monnik preekte dat men stelen mogt en hij zelf had de gans in zijne schaprade.
 * English equivalent: The friar preached against stealing when he had a pudding in his sleeve.


 * De muren hebben oren.
 * English equivalent: walls have ears.
 * "What you say may be overheard; used as a warning."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:
 * Source:


 * De nacht is niemands vriend.


 * De rook van het vaderland is aangenamer dan een vreemd vuur.
 * English equivalent: Dry bread at home is better than roast meat abroad.


 * De toekomst is een boek met zeven sloten.
 * English equivalent: Whatever will be, will be.


 * De uitkomst zal het leren.
 * English equivalent: The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
 * "The taste, not the looks, must constitute the criterion. It may be like, many other things, beautiful externally but within devoid of every excellence. Perhaps no sense is more decisive or correct in judgment than the perception of taste. How often is the eye deceived, with respect to colors and various objects of sight, as well as the sense of touch, in respect to the quality of things in contact but; very rarely is the natural sense of taste deceived, in respect to the quality of food."


 * De uitzondering bevestigt de regel.
 * The exception confirms the rule.
 * Source:


 * Des volks stem is Gods stem.
 * English equivalent: The voice of the people is the voice of God.


 * De waarheid wil niet altijd gezegd zijn.
 * English equivalent: All truths are not to be told.
 * "It is not a lie to keep the truth to oneself."
 * Dorothy Catherine Fontana, in a line written for "Mr. Spock" (Leonard Nimoy), from the Star Trek episode, The Enterprise Incident (27 September 1968).


 * De weg naar de hel is geplaveid met goede voornemens.
 * English equivalent: The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
 * Source:


 * Die den honing wil uithalen, moet het stijken der bijen ondergaan.
 * English equivalent: Honey is sweet, but the bees sting.


 * Die eens steelt is altijd een dief.
 * English equivalent: once a thief, always a thief


 * Die goed doet, goed ontmoet.
 * English equivalent: If you do good, good will be done to you.


 * Die op eens anders (eens dooden) schoenen hoopt, Heeft nood, dat hij lang blootsvoets loopt.
 * English equivalent: Don't wait for dead mens shoes.


 * Die zich zelven tot een schaap maakt van de wolven gegeten.
 * English equivalent: He that makes himself a sheep shall be eaten by the wolf.


 * Doet naar mijn woorden en niet naar mijn werken.
 * English equivalent: Preachers say: do as I say, not as i do.
 * "Example has more followers than reason. We unconsciously imitate what pleases us, and insensibly approximate to the characters we most admire. In this way, a generous habit of thought and of action carries with it an incalculable influence."
 * Christian Nestell Bovee, Intuitions and Summaries of Thought (1862)


 * Door de bomen het bos niet meer zien.
 * English equivalent: Missing the forest because of the trees.
 * Theissen, S. and P. Hiligsmann (1999). Uitdrukkingen en spreekwoorden van A tot Z: Dictionnaire n√©erlandais-fran√ßais d'expressions et de proverbes Explication, traduction et exercices, De Boeck Universit√©.


 * Dikwyls schuilt er eene slang onder t loof.
 * English equivalent: Look before you leap, for snakes among sweet flowers do creep.

E

 * Een bloode hond word zelden velt.


 * English equivalent: Discretion is the better part of valor.
 * Source:


 * Een dichter wordt geboren, een redenaar wordt gemaakt.
 * English equivalent: Poets are born, but orators are trained.


 * Een drenkeling klemt zich aan een strohalm vast.
 * English equivalent: A drowning man plucks at a straw.


 * Een gek zegt wel eens een wijs woord..
 * English equivalent: A fool may give a wise man counsel.


 * Een gewaarschuwd mens telt voor twee.
 * A warned man counts as two.
 * English equivalent: Warned is forearmed.
 * Source:


 * Een gierigaard is nooit rijk.
 * Covetousness is its own stepmother.
 * English equivalent: The covetous man is good to none and worst to himself.


 * Een goed aambeeld moet voor geen slag bezwijken.
 * English equivalent: A good anvil does not fear the hammer.


 * Een goede moeder zegt niet mijn kind wilt gij.
 * English equivalent: The good mother saith not will you? but gives.


 * Een goede naam is beter dan olie.
 * English equivalent: A good name is the best of all treasures.


 * Een groot boek, een groot kwaad.
 * English equivalent: A great book is a great evil.
 * "ERUDITION, n~ Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull."
 * Ambrose Pierce, The Devil's Dictionary (1906)


 * Een kat in de zak kopen.
 * English equivalent: Let the buyer have thousand eyes for the seller wants only one.


 * Een krom hout brandt zowel als een recht.
 * English equivalent: Crooked logs make straight fires.


 * Een mens zijn zin is een mens zijn leven.
 * English equivalent: His own desire leads every man.


 * Een slecht werksman beschuldigt altijd zijn tuig.
 * A bad craftsman blames his tools.
 * Source:


 * Een spiering uitwerpen, om een kabeljauw te vangen.
 * To throw a smelt, to catch a codfish.
 * English equivalent: Set a herring to catch a whale.


 * Eind goed, al goed.
 * English equivalent: All is well that ends well.
 * "Problems and misfortunes along the way can be forgotten as long as the end is satisfactory."


 * Er is niets nieuws onder de zon.
 * English equivalent: There is nothing new under the sun.


 * Er is onderscheid tusschen Salomo en zijn schoenlapper intusschen wijze mannen doen wel eens zotte dingen.
 * English equivalent: Even homer sometimes nods.


 * Er zijn geen ergere blinden dan die niet zien willen.
 * English equivalent: There are none so blind as they who will not see.
 * Source:


 * Er zijn geen ergere doven dan die niet horen willen.
 * English equivalent: None so deaf as those who will not hear.

G

 * Ga niet op het uiterlijk af.
 * English equivalent: Never judge by appearances; Judge not a man and things at first sight.
 * "No good Book, or good thing of any sort, shows its best face at first."
 * Thomas Carlyle, Essays, "Novalis"


 * Geduld gaat boven geleerdheid.
 * Patience goes beyond knowledge.
 * English equivalent: An ounce of patience is worth a pound of brains.


 * Gedwongen liefde en waterverf gaan spoedig uit.
 * English equivalent: Forced love and watercolors do not last.


 * Geef eens een' hond een' kwaaden naam, dan mag hij wel over boord springen.
 * English equivalent: Give a dog a bad name and hang him.


 * Geeft men hem den duim, dan wil hij er de vingers nog bij hebben.
 * English equivalent: Give him an inch and he will take a yard.
 * Source:


 * Geen geld, geen Zwitsers.
 * No money, no Swiss.
 * English equivalent: If you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
 * "If something is expensive to develop, and somebody's not going to get paid, it won't get developed. So you decide: Do you want software to be written, or not?"
 * Interview with Dennis Bathory-Kitsz in 80 Microcomputing (1980) Clips from the interview can be found on "No Money (Lullaby for Bill)" by Dennis Báthory-Kitsz.
 * Source:


 * Geld moet rollen.
 * Money must roll.
 * English equivalent: Money is there to be spent.
 * "Ted Eckles [about time travel tourism] It is awfully expensive.
 * Christian Middleton What's the point of being rich if you don't buy things other people can't afford?"
 * From the film A Sound of Thunder (2005), directed by Peter Hyams


 * Gen haar zoo klein of het heeft ook zijn schaduw.
 * Translation and English equivalent: Every hair casts its shadow.


 * Geen regel zonder uitzondering.
 * There exists no rule without exceptions.
 * English equivalent: There is no rule without an exception.


 * Geen rook zonder vuur.
 * No smoke without fire.
 * Rumors are always, partially, based on facts.
 * Other meaning: There is a reason behind everything that happens.
 * Source:


 * Gemeen gerucht is zelden gelogen.
 * Common rumor seldom lies.
 * English equivalent: Common fame is often to blame.
 * A general disrepute is often true.
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:


 * Gemeene plaag rust wel.
 * English equivalent: A problem shared is a problem halved.


 * Geneesheer, genees u zelven!
 * English equivalent: Physician, heal yourself!
 * Don't correct other people's faults; correct your own faults instead.


 * Gezondheid is een grote schat.
 * English equivalent: Good health is above wealth.
 * "What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world - and loses his health?"
 * Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948)


 * Geweld is geen recht.
 * English equivalent: Might is not always right.


 * God behoede mij voor mijn vrienden, mijn vijenden neem ik zelf voor mijn rekening.
 * God save me from my friends; my enemies I can handle myself.
 * English equivalent: A mans worst enemies are often those of his own house.


 * God schept geen mond, of hij schept er ook brood.
 * English equivalent: Each day brings it own bread.
 * Try not to worry so much about the future.


 * Goed begin, goed einde.
 * Translation and English equivalent: A good beginning makes a good ending.
 * "Starting properly ensures the speedy completion of a process. A – beginning is often blocked by one or more obstacles (potential barriers) the removal of which may ensure the smooth course of the process."
 * Source for meaning:
 * Source for proverb:


 * Goed verloren, niet verloren; moed verloren, veel verloren; eer verloren, meer verloren; ziel verloren, al verloren.
 * English equivalent: Courage lost, all lost.


 * Goede moed is half teergeld.
 * English equivalent: Faith is half the battle.


 * Goede waar behoeft geen uithangbord.
 * English equivalent: Good ware makes quick market.


 * Goede wijn behoeft geen krans.
 * Good wine needs no wreath.
 * Note: It was customary since early times to hang a grapevine, ivy or other greenery over the door of a tavern or way stop to advertise the availability of drink within.
 * English equivalent: Good wine needs no bush.
 * "A good product does not need advertising."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:
 * Source:


 * Goedkoop is duurkoop.
 * Cheaply bought is expensively bought.
 * English equivalent: If you buy cheaply you pay dearly. / Penny-wise, pound foolish.
 * Source:


 * Goed is goed, maar beter is beter.
 * English equivalent: Better is the enemy of good.
 * "The greatest weakness of all weaknesses is to fear too much to appear weak."
 * Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, Politique tirée de l'Écriture sainte (1709)


 * Goed voorgaan doet goed volgen.
 * A good example will gain much following.
 * English equivalent: Lead by example.
 * "Socrates Whom, well inspir'd, the oracle pronounc'd Wisest of men."
 * John Milton, Paradise Regained (1671), Book IV, line 274
 * Source:

H

 * Haast je langzaam.
 * English equivalent: Make haste slowly.
 * Source:


 * Heden ik, morgen gij.
 * English equivalent: Today me, tomorrow thee.
 * "When you see a man in distress, recognize him as a fellow man."
 * Seneca the Younger, Hercules Furens, 463.


 * Heden is heden; maar morgen is een onbegrijpelijke dag.
 * English equivalent: One today is worth two tomorrows.


 * Heden mij, Morgen dij.
 * English equivalent: To day thee, to morrow me.


 * Herrenhulde is geen erve.
 * English equivalent: A king's favour is no inheritance.


 * Het geluk helpt de dapperen.
 * English equivalent: Fortune favours the bold.


 * Het is een zot die, het zekere voor het onzekere lat varen.
 * English equivalent: He that leaves certainty and sticks to chance, When fools pipe, he may dance.


 * Het is goed vuur maken (It Is licht een goed vuur te stoken) van eens anders turf.
 * English equivalent: Men cut large thongs of other men's leather.


 * Het komt veel aan op de manier waarop men iets zegt.
 * English equivalent: It is not what you say, it is the way you say it.
 * "A good comedian can say things funny and other guys just say funny things."
 * Fred Allen, attributed by Robert Lemke in The Sunday Press (Binghamton, NY), “Rock ‘n Roll ‘Musically Horrid” Says Ex-2-a-Dayer,” pg. 2-C, col. 1 (9 August 1959)


 * Het middel is vaak erger dan de kwaal.
 * English equivalent: The remedy is often worse than the disease.
 * "Action taken to put something right is often more unpleasant or damaging than the original problem."


 * Het gelijke wordt door het gelijke genezen.
 * English equivalent: You must meet roughness with roughness.
 * "The best way to deal with an opponent is to fight back with similar weapons or tactics."


 * Het getij wacht op niemand.
 * English equivalent: Time and tide waits for no man.
 * "Take, for illustration, the case of the negligent and unreflecting man. He resolves to accomplish a certain important object at some future period; but in the intervening time, some preparatory, though in itself comparatively trifling business, is indispensable."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:


 * Het is goed, twee pijlen op zijn boog te hebben.
 * English equivalent: Good riding at two anchors, men have told, for if the one fails, the other may hold.


 * Het is niet alles goud wat er blinkt.
 * English equivalent: All that glitters is not gold.
 * Source:


 * Het verstand komt met de jaren.
 * English equivalent: Reason does not come before age.


 * Het water holt een arden steen, En dat maar door een drup alleen.
 * English equivalent: Constant dropping wears the stone.


 * Het zijn allemaal geen dieven daar de honden tegen blaffen.
 * English equivalent: All are not thieves that dogs bark at.


 * Het zijn slechte honden die hun eigen volk bijten.
 * English equivalent: It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest.


 * Het zijn sterke benen die de weelde kunnen dragen.
 * English equivalent: Put a beggar on horseback and he'll ride it to death.
 * Source:


 * Hij is in Rome geweest en hij heeft de paus niet gezien.
 * English equivalent: He was in Rome and did not see the pope.


 * Hij is penning - wijs en pond - zot.
 * English equivalent: Penny wise, pound foolish.


 * Hoe meer zielen, hoe meer vreugd.
 * English equivalent: The more the merrier.


 * Hoe ouder, hoe zotter.
 * English equivalent: Wisdom goes not always by years.
 * "The older, the more foolish."


 * Hoogmoed, gepaard met vele deugden, verstikt die alle.
 * English equivalent: Riding the high horse.
 * Spreekwoordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, of Verzameling van Nederlandsche spreekwoorden en spreekwoordelijke uitrdrukkingen von vroegeren en lateren tijd (1858) p. 330


 * Hoogmoed komt voor de val
 * English equivalent: Pride comes before fall.

I

 * In twijfel, onthoud u.
 * English equivalent: When in doubt, leave it out.
 * "If you are unsure what to do, it is best to do nothing at all."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:


 * In de wijn is de waarheid.
 * English equivalent: In wine there is truth.
 * Alcohol consumed removes the inhibition against telling the truth that occasionally one would like to keep secret.
 * Source for meaning and proverbs:


 * In het land der blinden is eenoog koning.
 * English equivalent: Among the blind, the one-eyed is king.
 * "People of only limited capability can succeed when surrounded by those who are even less able than themselves."


 * Indien gij iets doet, doe het dan goed.
 * English equivalent: If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well.
 * "Too low they build who build beneath the stars."
 * Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1742-1745), Night VIII, line 225.

J

 * Je moet een gegeven paard niet in de mond kijken.
 * English equivalent: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
 * Source for meaning:
 * Source:

K

 * Kennis is macht.
 * English equivalent: Knowledge is power.

L

 * Niet te veel hooi op de vork nemen.
 * English equivalent: Don't have too many irons in the fire.
 * "A good plan is a simple plan."
 * Jim Rohn, Five Major Pieces To the Life Puzzle (1991)


 * Kleine potjes hebben grote oren.
 * English equivalent: Little pitchers have great ears.


 * Lands wijs, 's lands eer.
 * English equivalent: To each their own.
 * p.Spreekwoordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, of Verzameling van Nederlandsche spreekwoorden en spreekwoordelijke uitdrukkingen von vroegeren en lateren tijd p. 463


 * Ledige vaten geven het meest geluid.
 * English equivalent: Empty vessels make the greatest sound.


 * Let op het ende.
 * English equivalent: Whatever you do, act wisely, and consider the end.


 * Leugens hebben korte benen.
 * English equivalent: A lie has short legs.

M

 * Men vangt meer vliegen met stroop dan met azijn.
 * English equivalent: You can catch more flies with a drop of honey than with a barrel of vinegar.


 * Men melkt de koe door den hals.
 * English equivalent: It is by the head that the cow gives the milk.


 * Men krijgt niets voor niets.
 * English equivalent: You get nothing for nothing.
 * "You can't cheat an honest man. He has to have larceny in his heart in the first place."
 * Attributed to W.C Fields


 * Men moet de dag niet prijzen voor het avond is.
 * Don't praise the day until it is evening.
 * Don't celebrate until you are 100 % sure there is a reason to do so.
 * English equivalent: Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
 * Source:


 * Men moet niet de eiren onder een hen (kip) leggen.
 * English equivalent: Don't put all your eggs in the same basket.


 * Men moet de huid niet verkopen voordat de beer geschoten is.
 * Don't sell the fur until the bear has been shot.
 * English equivalent: Sell not the bear's skin before you have caught him.
 * Source:


 * Men moet het ijzer smeden als het heet is.
 * You have to forge while the iron is hot.
 * Source:


 * Men moet niet het huis door de glazen gooien.
 * English equivalent: Don't burn the candles at both ends.
 * Don't wake up early in the morning and stay up late into the evening as well.


 * Met de maat, waarmee gij meet, zal u weder gemeten worden.
 * English equivalent: Whatever measure you deal out to others will be dealt back to you.


 * Met den wil kan men bergen verzetten.
 * English equivalent: Faith can move mountains.


 * Met dieven vangt men dieven.
 * English equivalent: Set a thief to catch a thief.


 * Met veel slagen valt de boom.
 * English equivalent: Little strokes fell great oaks.
 * A difficult task, e. g. removing a person/group from a strong position, or changing established ideas cannot be done quickly. It can be achieved gradually, by small steps, a little at a time.
 * Source for proverbs and meaning:


 * Met vuur spelen.
 * Playing with fire.
 * English equivalent: Do not play with edged tools.


 * Meet driemaal eer gij eens snijdt.
 * English equivalent: Measure thrice, cut once.
 * One should always act only after due consideration. A hasty action may involve an improper consideration of important aspects.
 * Source for meaning:
 * Source for meaning:

N

 * Na regen komt zonneschijn.
 * English equivalent: After rain comes sunshine.


 * Niemand kan regter zijn in zijne eigen zaken.
 * English equivalent: No one can be the judge in his own case.


 * Niemand is onmisbaar.
 * English equivalent: No man is indispensable.


 * Niemand weet waar een ander de schoen wringt.
 * English equivalent: No one knows where the shoe pinches, but he who wears it.
 * "Nobody can fully understand another person's hardship or suffering."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:


 * Nieuwe bezems vegen schoon.
 * English equivalent: A new broom sweeps clean.
 * "We should never use an old tool when the extra labor in consequence costs more than a new one. Thousands wear out their lives and waste their time merely by the use of dull and unsuitable instruments."
 * "We often apply it to exchanges among servants, clerks, or any persons employed, whose service, at first, in any new place, is very good, both efficient and faithful; but very soon, when all the new circumstances have lost their novelty, and all their curiosity has ceased, they naturally fall into their former and habitual slackness."
 * Source:
 * Source:


 * Niet geschoten is altijd mis.
 * To never have shot is always a miss.


 * Nood breekt wet.
 * English equivalent: Necessity has no law.

O

 * Om eene kleine zak bijt (eet) de wolf het schaap.
 * English equivalent: The wolf finds a reason for taking the lamb.


 * Ondank is 's werelds loon.
 * Ingratitude is the reward of the world.


 * Ongeluk komt te paard, en keert te voet.
 * English equivalent: Misfortune comes on horseback and goes away on foot.


 * Ongeluk komt zelden alleen.
 * English equivalent: Misery loves company.
 * Source:


 * Over honderd jaar zijn wij toch dood.
 * English equivalent: It will all be the same a hundred years hence.
 * "Trivial problems or mistakes of the present moment have no lasting significance or effect, so there is no point in worrying about them."
 * Source for meaning:

P

 * Paarlen voor de varkens strooijen.
 * English equivalent: Throwing pearls before swine.

S

 * Schande over hem, die er kwaad van denkt.
 * English equivalent: Shame take him that shame thinketh.
 * Don't think evil of others since they most likely act the way they do because of situational factors: Never attribute a thing to malice which can adequately be explained by stupidity.


 * Schijn bedriegt.
 * Appearances deceive.
 * Things are not as they seem to be.
 * Source:


 * Schoenmaker, blijf bij je leest.
 * English equivalent: A shoemaker must not go beyond his laft.
 * "The moral Instruction of this Proverb, is, That Perfons, though skilful in their own Art, ought not meddle or make with Things out of their own Sphere, and not prefume to correct or amend what they do not underftand. The Proverb is only the Latin Ne futor ultra crepidam, in an Englifh Drefs; and ﬁrft took its Authority from a Story of the celebrated Painter Apelles, who having drawn a famous Piece, and expof’d it to publick View, a Cobler came by and found Fault with it, becaufe he made too few Latcbets to the Golofhoes: Apelles mends it accordingly, and fets it out again, and the next Day the Cobler coming again, ﬁnds Fault with the whole Leg; upon which Apelles comes out, faying, Cobler, go Home and keep to your Laft."
 * Source for meaning: Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721
 * Source:


 * Spaar vader — kwist kind.
 * English equivalent: A miserly father makes a prodigal son.


 * Stilstand is achteruitgang.
 * English equivalent: He who does not advance goes backwards.

T

 * Twee vliegen in één klap.
 * Two flies in one hit.
 * English equivalent: Kill two birds with one stone.
 * To achieve two goals with a single action.

V

 * Van de dooden niets dan goed.
 * English equivalent: Speak well of the dead.


 * Van een vlieg een olifant maken.
 * English equivalent: Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.


 * Van niets komt niets.
 * From nothing nothing can come.
 * If you do absolutely nothing, nothing will come to you.


 * Van twee kwalen moet men de ergste mijden.
 * From two diseases one should avoid the worst.
 * English equivalent: Of two evils choose the least.
 * "If you are forced to choose between two options, both of which are undesirable, all you can do is choose the one that is less undesirable than the other."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent: {{{cite book|author=Martin H. Manser|title=The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=fgaUQc8NbTYC&pg=PA42|accessdate=3 August 2013|year=2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-6673-5|page=42}}


 * Veel handen maken ligt werk, maar zijn de droes in de schotel.
 * English equivalent: Many hands make light work.


 * Veel pluimkens maken een bed.
 * English equivalent: Many a mickle makes a muckle.


 * Verdeel en heers.
 * English equivalent: Divide and conquer.
 * "The best way to conquer or control a group of people is by encouraging them to fight among themselves rather than allowing them to unite in opposition to the ruling authority."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:


 * Vertrouwen komt te voet en vertrekt te paard.
 * Trust arrives on foot and departs on horseback.
 * Approximate English equivalent: it's very hard to get trust, and it's easy to lose it


 * Vier dingen laten zich niet verbergen: Vuur, schurft, hoest en liefde.
 * Four things do not let themselves be hidden: fire, mange, coughing and love.
 * English equivalent: Love, smoke and cough are hard to hide.


 * Vroeg rijp, vroeg rot.
 * Premature mature, premature putrefied.
 * English equivalent: Early ripe, early rotten.

W

 * Wanneer de nood op het hoogst is, is de redding nabij.
 * "When the need is great, salvation is near."


 * Wanneer de sleutel is van goud, waar is er dan een slot dat houdt.
 * English equivalent: A golden key opens any gate but that of heaven.


 * Wat alleman zegt is waar.
 * English equivalent: What everybody says must be true.
 * "Where an opinion is general, it is usually correct."
 * Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, Chapter XI.


 * Wat baten kaars en bril, als den uil niet zienen wil..
 * English equivalent: It takes two to tango.
 * '"The reason that there are so few good conversationalists is that most people are thinking about what they are going to say and not about what the others are saying."
 * François de La Rochefoucauld, Réflexions diverses, IV: De la conversation. (1731)
 * Source:


 * Wat in't gebeente gegroeid is, wil uit het vlees niet.
 * English equivalent: What is bred in the bone will not go out of the flesh.
 * "What is innate is not to be eradicated by force of education or self discipline: these may modify the outward manifestations of a man's nature, but not transmute the nature itself."
 * Source for meaning:
 * Source for meaning:


 * Wat men schrijft, dat blijft.
 * English equivalent: Paper is forbearing.


 * We moeten het beestje bij zijn naam noemen.
 * English equivalent: Call a spade a spade.


 * Wie boter op zijn hoofd heeft, moet uit de zon blijven.
 * He who has butter on his head, should stay out of the sun.
 * English equivalent: He that hath a head of wax must not walk in the sun.
 * Know your limitations and weaknesses; Don't do something that is sure to damage you.


 * Wie dan leeft, wie dan zorgt.
 * Who lives then, worries then.
 * English equivalent: Don't cross your bridges until you reach them.
 * Focus on a problem the moment you are facing it, and not earlier.
 * Source:


 * Wie een hond wil slaan, kan gemakkelijk een stok vinden.
 * The one who wants to hit a dog can easily find a stick.
 * Someone who wants to be mean will find things to be mean about no matter what.
 * Source:


 * Wie draagt er ergens slimmer schoenen dan een schoenmakersvrouw.
 * Who carries ever worst shoes than a shoemaker's wife?
 * English equivalent: The cobbler's wife is the worst shod.
 * "Working hard for others one may neglect one's own needs or the needs of those closest to him."
 * Source for proverbs and meaning:


 * Wie een kuil graaft voor een ander, valt er zelf in.
 * He who digs a hole for another, will fall in it himself.
 * Source:


 * Wie niet met mij is, die is tegen mij.
 * English equivalent: He who is not with me is against me.
 * "Don't allow anyone to make you feel as you are not good enough for being you. Don't let anyone make you feel stupid, ugly or as though there is something wrong with you. Promise me that if you even get a whiff of that stuff you will run away from them as fast as your legs can carry you, okay?"
 * Katie Oman, Self-Love Pledge: How Learning to Love Myself Led to True Happiness (2020)
 * Originally from the Bible, Luke 11:23 and Matthew 12:30. Specificed as a proverb in (Strauss, 1994 p. 974)


 * Wie op twee hazen te gelijk jaagt, vangt geen van beide.
 * Who goes after two hares at the same time, will catch neither.
 * English equivalent: You must not run after two hares at the same time.
 * "Concentrate on one thing at a time or you will achieve nothing. - Trying to do two or more things at a time, when even one on its own needs full effort, means that none of them will be accomplished properly."
 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:


 * Wie rijk wil worden, komt in verzoeking.
 * English equivalent: No one gets rich quickly if he is honest.


 * Wie zijn hersens niet gebruikt moet zijn benen gebruiken.
 * English equivalent: Who falls short in the head must be long in the heels.


 * Wie wind zaait, zal storm oogsten.
 * English equivalent: sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
 * Book of Hosea 8:7


 * Wie zijn eigen tuintje wiedt, ziet het onkruid van een ander niet.
 * He who tends to his own garden, does not see the weeds of his neighbors.
 * Source:


 * Wie zijn neus schendt, schendt zijn aangezicht.
 * English equivalent: He cut off his nose to spite his face.


 * Wij zijn allen uit Adams ribben gekropen.
 * English equivalent: We are all descended from Adam.

Z

 * Zachte heelmeesters maken stinkende wonden.
 * English equivalent: Mild physician, putrid wound.
 * Source:


 * Zeker is zeker.
 * English equivalent: He that leaves a certainty and sticks to chance, when fools pipe he may dance.


 * Zelfs lief, niemands lief.
 * English equivalent: Don't blow your own horn.


 * Zigt ons met wie dat gij verkeert, en heb ik uwen raad geleerd.
 * English equivalent: A man is known by the company he keeps.


 * Zolang er leven is, is er hoop.
 * As long as there is life, there is hope.
 * Source:


 * Zoals de ouden zongen, piepen de jongen.
 * As the old ones sing, so do the young ones chirp..
 * Source:


 * Zo vader, zo zoon.
 * English equivalent: Like father, like son.
 * “Sons may look and behave like their fathers. This is due to inheritance and the example observed closely and daily.”


 * Zulke moeder, zulke dochter.
 * English equivalent: Like mother, like daughter.
 * “Daughters may look and behave like their mothers. This is due to inheritance and the example observed closely and daily.”


 * Zweegen de dwazen zij waren wijs.
 * Were fools silent they would pass for wise.
 * English equivalent: Even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise.