50 Best Spanish Quotes and Proverbs with English Translation

You’ve found the best site to hunt for sensible Spanish proverbs if you’re learning the language. I’ve collected some of the wisest Spanish quotes and sayings in this article to support you.

The wisdom of the past is captured in Spanish proverbs and phrases, which also offer ageless life advice. Here are a few of my favorite Spanish sayings that motivate me.

50 Best Spanish Quotes

From famous writers and poets such as Miguel de Cervantes and Pablo Neruda to modern-day celebrities and leaders such as Shakira and Diego Maradona, these quotes cover a wide range of topics such as life, love, and friendship.

Dive into our selection of quotes and let the words of some of the greatest Spanish-speaking minds inspire you.

25 Spanish Quotes with Meaning

1. “Algún día en cualquier parte, en cualquier lugar indefectiblemente te encontrarás a ti mismo, y ésa, sólo ésa, puede ser la más feliz o la más amarga de tus horas” — Pablo Neruda

English translation: “Someday, somewhere, in some place, you will inevitably run into your own self, and that, only that, can be the happiest or the bitterest of your moments.”

2. “La vida es una serie de colisiones con el futuro; no es una suma de lo que hemos sido, sino de lo que anhelamos ser.” – José Ortega y Gasset

English translation: Life is a series of collisions with the future; it is not a sum of what we have been, but of what we hope to be.

3. “Aprendí que si no puedes ser feliz con pocas cosas, no vas a ser feliz con muchas cosas.”– José “Pepe” Mujica

English translation: I learned that if you can’t be happy with a little, you won’t be happy with a lot.

4. “Como no me he preocupado de nacer, no me preocupo de morir.“ — Federico García Lorca

English translation: Just as I didn’t worry about being born, I’m not worried about dying.

5. “Errar es humano, pero más lo es culpar de ello a otros.” – Baltazar Gracián

English translation: To err is human, but even more so is to blame others for it.

6. “Enamórate de ti, de la vida y luego de quien tú quieras.” – Frida Kahlo

English translation: Fall in love with yourself, with life, and then with whoever you want.

7. “Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar.” — Antonio Machado

English translation: Walker, there is no path, you make it as you walk.

8. “Para hacer realidad un gran sueño, el primer requisito es una gran capacidad de soñar; el segundo es la persistencia.” – César Chávez

English translation: To make a great dream come true, the first requirement is a great capacity to dream. The second is persistence.

9. “Quien ha visto la esperanza, no la olvida. La busca bajo todos los cielos y entre todos los hombres.” — Octavio Paz.

English translation: He who has seen hope does not forget it. He looks for it under every sky and among all men.

10. “El que quiere interesar a los demás tiene que provocarlos.” — Salvador Dali

English translation: He who wants to interest others must provoke them.

11. “La verdad adelgaza, pero no quiebra, y siempre anda sobre la mentira como el aceite sobre el agua.” – Miguel de Cervantes

English translation: The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always rises above lies like oil floats on water.

12. “La incertidumbre es una margarita cuyos pétalos no se terminan jamás de deshojar.” — Mario Vargas Llosa

English translation: Uncertainty is a daisy whose petals you will never finish pulling off.

13. “Es feliz el que soñando, muere. Desgraciado el que muera sin soñar.” — Rosalía De Castro

English translation: He is happy, the one who dies while dreaming. Disgraced is the one who dies without dreams.

14. “El mundo hay que fabricárselo uno mismo, hay que crear peldaños que te suban, que te saquen del pozo. Hay que inventar la vida porque acaba siendo verdad.” — Ana María Matute

English translation: You have to build the world around you, yourself: you have to create the steps that will take you up, and help you out of the well. You have to invent life, because in the end it will eventually be real.

15. “Hay que sentir el pensamiento y pensar el sentimiento.” — Miguel de Unamuno

English translation: You must feel your thought and think your feeling.

16. “Aprender a dudar es aprender a pensar.” — Octavio Paz

English translation: Learning to doubt is learning to think.

17. “Nunca tendré compasión por los que no supieron morir a tiempo.” — Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid Campeador)

English translation: I will never have sympathy for those who do not die on time

18. “Enamorarse es crear una religión cuyo Dios es falible.“ — Jorge Luis Borges

English translation: Falling in love is creating a religion whose God is fallible.

19. “Como si se pudiese elegir en el amor, como si no fuera un rayo que te parte los huesos.” – Julio Cortázar

English translation: As if you could choose love as if it weren’t like a lightning bolt that breaks your bones.

20. “La muerte no existe, la gente sólo muere cuando la olvidan; si puedes recordarme siempre estaré contigo.” — Isabel Allende

English translation: Death does not exist, people only die when they are forgotten; if you can remember me I will always be with you.

21. “Lo que me gusta de tu cuerpo es el sexo. Lo que me gusta de tu sexo es la boca. Lo que me gusta de tu boca es la lengua. Lo que me gusta de tu lengua es la palabra.“ — Julio Cortázar

English translation: “What I like about your body is its sexiness. What I like about your sexiness is your mouth. What I like about your mouth is your tongue. What I like about your tongue is the word.”

22. “Un hombre solo tiene derecho de mirar a otro hacia abajo cuando tiene que ayudarlo a levantarse.” — Gabriel García Márquez

English translation: A man only has the right to look down on another when he has to help them up.

23. “Tal vez sea verdad: que un corazón es lo que mueve el mundo.” — Dámaso Alonso

English translation: Perhaps it is true: it is a heart which moves the world.

24. “A lo largo de la historia, la democracia y la felicidad no han producido nunca gran literatura.“ — Mario Vargas Llosa

English translation: Throughout history, democracy, and happiness have never produced great literature.

25. “La guerra es la obra de arte de los militares, la coronación de su formación, el broche dorado de su profesión. No han sido creados para brillar en la Paz.“ — Isabel Allende

English translation: War is soldiers’ work of art, the crowning glory of their training, the gilded jewel of their profession. They were not born to shine in peace.

15 Quotes in Spanish

26. “El hábito no hace al monje.The habit doesn’t make the monk.” (Clothes do not make the man.)

27. “A beber y a tragar, que el mundo se va a acabar.Here’s to drinking and swallowing, for the world is going to end.” (Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.)

28. “Algo es algo; menos es nada.Something is something; less is nothing.” (It’s better than nothing. Half a loaf is better than none.)

29. “No hay que ahogarse en un vaso de agua.It isn’t necessary to drown oneself in a glass of water.” (Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.)

30.” Borra con el codo lo que escribe con la mano”.He/she erases with the elbow what his/her hand is writing. (Whatever good actions or decisions he makes, he invalidates by other actions)

31. “Dame pan y dime tonto.Give me bread and call me a fool”. (Think of me what you will. As long as I get what I want, it doesn’t matter what you think.)

32. “La cabra siempre tira al monte.” The goat always heads toward the mountain. (The leopard doesn’t change its spots. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.)

33. “El amor todo lo puede.Love can do it all. (Love will find a way.)

34. “De músico, poeta y loco, todos tenemos un poco.” We all have a little bit of musician, poet and crazy person in ourselves. (We’re all a little bit crazy.)

35. “Al mejor escribano se le va un borrón”.To the best scribe comes a smudge. (Even the best of us make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect.)

36. “Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente.” The shrimp that falls asleep is carried by the current. (Don’t let the world pass you by. Stay alert and be proactive. Don’t fall asleep at the wheel.)

37. “A lo hecho, pecho”.To what is done, the chest. (Face up to what is. What is done is done.)

38. “Nunca es tarde para aprender.” It never is late for learning. (It is never too late to learn.)

39. “A otro perro con ese hueso.” To another dog with that bone. (Tell that to someone who will believe you.)

40. “Desgracia compartida, menos sentida.” Shared misfortune, less sorrow. (Misery loves company.)

10 More Spanish Quotes

41. “Donde hay humo, hay fuego.Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

42. “No vendas la piel del oso antes de cazarlo.” Don’t sell the bear’s hide before you hunt it. (Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.)

43. “Qué bonito es ver la lluvia y no mojarse.” How nice it is to see the rain and not get wet. (Don’t criticize others for the way they do something unless you’ve done it yourself.)

44. “Nadie da palos de balde.” Nobody gives sticks for free. (You can’t get something for anything. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.)

45. “Los árboles no están dejando ver el bosque.” The trees aren’t allowing one to see the forest. (You can’t see the forest for the trees.)

46. “El mundo es un pañuelo.The world is a handkerchief.” (It’s a small world.)

47. “A cada cerdo le llega su San Martín.” Every pig gets its San Martín. (What goes around comes around. You deserve what you get. San Martín refers to a traditional celebration in which a pig is sacrificed.)

48. “Consejo no pedido, consejo mal oído.” Advice not asked for, advice poorly heard. (Someone who doesn’t ask for advice doesn’t want to hear it. Don’t give advice unless you’re asked.)

49. “Obras son amores y no buenas razones.” Acts are love and good reasons aren’t. (Actions speak louder than words.)

50. “La lengua no tiene hueso, pero corta lo más grueso.” The tongue doesn’t have a bone, but it cuts the thickest thing. (Words are more powerful than weapons.)

To Sum up

I appreciate you reading this. Now over to you. Which of the aforementioned Spanish quotes did you appreciate best? Let us know which Spanish quotations are your favorites in the comments section. Please share this post about Spanish quotes with your friends and family on your preferred social media websites if you liked it.