famous italian proverb Those who sleep cannot catch fish – which literally means “He who sleeps catchs no fish” – shows that just hanging out won't get you anywhere. Just as a fisherman must remain alert to catch a fish on the hook, success requires constant preparation and action.
Those who sleep cannot catch fish
You doze off and you lose.
Many dictionaries compare it to English proverbs The early bird catches the wormalthough one might argue that it is actually closer in nature to another Italian expression – Morning with gold in mouth (Literally means “gold in your mouth in the morning”). This idiom means that people who get up early, like the early bird mentioned earlier, are usually more successful or find more opportunities. Personally, I feel it has more in common with ordinary expressions, albeit less elegant You doze off, you lose..
Remember, he who sleeps never catches up, so get up early tomorrow and start working on your project!
Remember, if you snooze, you lose, so wake up early tomorrow and start working on your project!
Another more biblical version of this proverb is He who sleeps cannot sin, but he cannot fishwhich translates to “those who sleep do not sin, but they also do not fish.”
An interesting aspect of Italian grammar is that you can use gas (meaning “who”) is followed by a third-person singular verb, expressing “Who is he…” or”Those ones…Here are some additional examples of other proverbs using this structure:
- Whoever finds a friend has found a treasure. = He who finds a friend has found a treasure.
- He who sows wind reaps storm. = He who sows the wind reaps the storm.
- He who walks slowly walks further. = He who walks slowly walks safely and farther.
- Those who don't want too much squeeze. = People who want too much end up with nothing.
- Chi si loda s'imbroda. = Those who brag get dirty.
- Anyone who starts well is already halfway there. = He who starts well is half done.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honors in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, fluent in English and Italian, as well as varying degrees of fluency in Japanese, Welsh and French. Originally from Toronto, Heather has lived in several countries, notably Italy for six years. Her main research areas are language acquisition, education and bilingual teaching.
