Mexican Proverbs

Enjoy dozens of witty and insightful Mexican proverbs and idioms that have been passed down from one generation to the next for hundreds of years!

• He who really wants to die will not complain if he is buried standing up.
• Love is too rare to be lost on jealousy.
• It’s not enough to know how to ride; you must also know how to fall.
• Do not refuse the body what it asks for.
• He who speaks too much is tiresome; he who speaks too little is boring.
• One timely shout is better than constant talk.
• Man proposes; God disposes; and the devil undoes it.
• Tell me what you want to buy and I will tell you what you are.
• How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterwards.
• Who gets angry, loses.
• We are all made of the same clay but not from the same mold.
• God did not give wings to scorpions.
• A steady step is better than a run that tires.
• No matter how early you get up, you can’t make the sun rise any sooner.
• If you don’t show, you don’t sell.
• Only men with thick lips should smoke a cigar.
• Those who rescue are always crucified.
• If it is not stolen, it is a legacy.
• Clear accounts, long friendships.
• Who does not live to serve does not serve to live.
• The envious never give praise; they only take it in.
• If you want to live in peace, you must not tell everything that you know, nor judge everything that you see.
• He is not fat; it is his belt that doesn’t fit.
• Everyone makes firewood of a fallen tree.
• With warning, there is no deception.
• Better alone than poorly accompanied.
• The house does not rest upon the ground, but upon a woman.
• A good cock will crow on every dunghill.
• Without corn, there is no country.
• Poor musicians blame their instruments.
• God helps those who rise early.
• The lover of a student does not always become the wife of a graduate.
• He who is accustomed to evil is offended by good.
• Trust your best friend as you would your worst enemy.
• If it does not stink, it is not a foot.
• Be careful what you wish for, as it could become true.
• Fewer donkeys, more corn.
• He who follows his own advice must take the consequences.
• The closer to a tree, good shade covers you.
• The rat who only knows about one hole will soon be caught by the cat.
• He who lingers around will hear bad things spoken about him.
• No flies enter a closed mouth.
• The stomach comes first.
• When two paupers get married, it is the beginning of a generation of beggars.
• There is no competition among lighthouses.
• Though a cage may be made of gold, it is still a cage.
• If you don’t honor your wife, you are dishonoring yourself.
• Nobody leaves this world alive.
• For every dog, there is an appropriate stick.
• Fortune is like a wall that falls on those who lean on it.

For thousands more proverbs and words of wisdom, collected from over 40 countries, check out Proverbs from Around the World!