Few languages can pack a whole lifetime of wisdom into a single line, but Italian does it with every proverbio.
A proverbio is a traditional Italian proverb, polished by generations of farmers, sailors, grandmothers and writers, and spoken daily from Rome to Milan.
This collection gathers 68 Italian Proverbs with plain English translations, so every saying can be used, shared and remembered.
So pour yourself an espresso, and let’s walk through centuries of hard-won common sense.
14 Italian Proverbs on Life & Wisdom
Chi va piano, va sano e va lontano. Whoever goes slowly, goes safely and goes far.
Italian Proverb
Finché c’è vita, c’è speranza. While there is life, there is hope.
Italian Proverb
Sbagliando s’impara. We learn by making mistakes.
Italian Proverb
La notte porta consiglio. The night brings counsel.
Italian Proverb
Chi dorme non piglia pesci. Who sleeps catches no fish.
Italian Proverb
Tutte le strade portano a Roma. All roads lead to Rome.
Italian Proverb
Il buongiorno si vede dal mattino. The good day is seen from the morning.
Italian Proverb
Le bugie hanno le gambe corte. Lies have short legs.
Italian Proverb
Meglio tardi che mai. Better late than never.
Italian Proverb
A mali estremi, estremi rimedi. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Italian Proverb
Non è tutto oro quello che luccica. All that glitters is not gold.
Italian Proverb
Chi cerca trova. Who seeks, finds.
Italian Proverb
Chi non risica, non rosica. Who risks nothing, gains nothing.
Italian Proverb
Tutto è bene quel che finisce bene. All’s well that ends well.
Italian Proverb
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14 Italian Proverbs on Love, Family & Friendship
L’amore è cieco. Love is blind.
Italian Proverb
L’amore vince sempre. Love always wins.
Italian Proverb
Amor non conosce travaglio. Love knows no labour.
Italian Proverb
Meglio soli che male accompagnati. Better alone than in bad company.
Italian Proverb
Un vero amico si vede nel momento del bisogno. A true friend is seen in the moment of need.
Italian Proverb
Chi trova un amico, trova un tesoro. Who finds a friend, finds a treasure.
Italian Proverb
La famiglia è la patria del cuore. Family is the homeland of the heart.
Italian Proverb
Il sangue non è acqua. Blood is not water.
Italian Proverb
Dimmi con chi vai e ti dirò chi sei. Tell me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are.
Italian Proverb
Lontano dagli occhi, lontano dal cuore. Far from the eyes, far from the heart.
Italian Proverb
L’amore non si compra. Love cannot be bought.
Italian Proverb
Chi ama, perdona. Who loves, forgives.
Italian Proverb
Fratelli coltelli. Brothers are like knives.
Italian Proverb
Gli amici si conoscono nelle avversità. Friends are known in adversity.
Italian Proverb
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14 Italian Proverbs on Hard Work & Patience
Tra il dire e il fare c’è di mezzo il mare. Between saying and doing, there is the sea.
Italian Proverb
Chi ben comincia è già a metà dell’opera. Well begun is half done.
Italian Proverb
Meglio un giorno da leone che cento da pecora. Better one day as a lion than a hundred as a sheep.
Italian Proverb
Meglio un uovo oggi che una gallina domani. Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow.
Italian Proverb
Chi non ha testa, abbia buone gambe. Who has no head must have good legs.
Italian Proverb
Ogni lasciata è persa. Every chance left behind is lost.
Italian Proverb
La pazienza è la virtù dei forti. Patience is the virtue of the strong.
Italian Proverb
Aiutati che il Ciel ti aiuta. Help yourself, and heaven will help you.
Italian Proverb
A chi sa non manca nulla. Who knows, lacks nothing.
Italian Proverb
Chi si fa i fatti suoi campa cent’anni. Who minds his own business lives a hundred years.
Italian Proverb
Non dire gatto se non ce l’hai nel sacco. Don’t say cat until you have it in the bag.
Italian Proverb
Tanto va la gatta al lardo che ci lascia lo zampino. The cat goes so often to the lard that it leaves its paw there.
Italian Proverb
Hai voluto la bicicletta? Adesso pedala! You wanted the bicycle? Now pedal!
Italian Proverb
È inutile piangere sul latte versato. It’s no use crying over spilt milk.
Italian Proverb
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13 Italian Proverbs on Food, Wine & the Good Life
Buon vino fa buon sangue. Good wine makes good blood.
Italian Proverb
A tavola non si invecchia. At the table, one does not grow old.
Italian Proverb
Chi ha i denti non ha il pane, e chi ha il pane non ha i denti. Who has teeth has no bread, and who has bread has no teeth.
Italian Proverb
La fame è il miglior condimento. Hunger is the best seasoning.
Italian Proverb
Il dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing.
Italian Proverb
Pane al pane, vino al vino. Bread to bread, wine to wine.
Italian Proverb
L’appetito vien mangiando. Appetite comes with eating.
Italian Proverb
Chi va a letto senza cena, tutta la notte si dimena. Who goes to bed without supper tosses all night.
Italian Proverb
Dove c’è gusto non c’è perdenza. Where there is taste, there is no loss.
Italian Proverb
A carnevale ogni scherzo vale. At Carnival, every joke is allowed.
Italian Proverb
Gallina vecchia fa buon brodo. An old hen makes good broth.
Italian Proverb
Chi non beve in compagnia, o è un ladro o è una spia. Who doesn’t drink in company is either a thief or a spy.
Italian Proverb
Non si può avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca. You can’t have a full barrel and a drunk wife.
Italian Proverb
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13 Short Italian Proverbs & Witty Sayings
L’abito non fa il monaco. The habit does not make the monk.
Italian Proverb
Mal comune mezzo gaudio. A trouble shared is a trouble halved.
Italian Proverb
L’erba del vicino è sempre più verde. The neighbour’s grass is always greener.
Italian Proverb
Ride bene chi ride ultimo. Who laughs last, laughs best.
Italian Proverb
Fidarsi è bene, ma non fidarsi è meglio. Trusting is good, but not trusting is better.
Italian Proverb
La casa nasconde ma non ruba. The house hides but does not steal.
Italian Proverb
Ogni scarrafone è bello a mamma sua. Every cockroach is beautiful to its own mother.
Italian Proverb
Il lupo perde il pelo ma non il vizio. The wolf loses its fur but not its vice.
Italian Proverb
Un bel morir tutta la vita onora. A noble death honours the whole life.
Italian Proverb
Quando finisce la partita, il re e il pedone finiscono nella stessa scatola. When the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.
Italian Proverb
A buon intenditor poche parole. A word to the wise is enough.
Italian Proverb
Chi tace acconsente. Silence means consent.
Italian Proverb
La vendetta è un piatto che va servito freddo. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Italian Proverb
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Keep a favourite Italian proverb close at hand, for letters, captions and the moments when a short line says what a long speech cannot. After all, the best advice is the kind you can still remember tomorrow.
