Swiss Proverbs

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

• He who does not work is without food.
• When in doubt about who will win, be neutral.
• It is easier to beat two devils into a child, than one devil out.
• It is always the fat ones who lead the dance.
• The poor lack much, but the greedy lack more.
• You learn how to cook with old pans.
• Mountains and valleys stand firm, but people meet.
• Each problem has two sides: the wrong side and ours.
• He that sleeps soundly feels not the toothache.
• If you close one eye, you will not hear everything.
• Sometimes, you have to be silent to be heard.
• He who mocks the cripple should be straight himself.
• Time is most valuable when you don’t have it.
• Marriage is a covered dish.
• Think first, start later.
• Every man is the maker of his own fortune.
• When one shuts one eye, one does not hear everything.
• When a neighbor gets divorced, everyone thinks of his own wife.
• Where it is customary, the cow is brought to bed.
• Words are dwarves; deeds are giants.
• The night rinses what the day has soaped.
• It is good fishing in streamy water.
• He who starts well is in the middle of the work.
• Ask ten brewers and you will get eleven opinions.
• Who cares about every little feather should not make the bed.
• At the bottom of the sack, you’ll find the bill.
• When a merchant talks about sheep, he means the hide.
• Better to sell with regret than to keep with regret.
• What the farmer doesn’t know, he will not eat.
• It’s easier to criticize than to do better.
• A good spectator also creates.
• The devil hides himself in the details.
• Speech is silver; silence is golden.
• If everyone looks after themselves, everyone is looked after.
• Ask ten brewers, and you will get eleven opinions.
• Luck is on your path: one takes it, the other passes by it.
• Better to sell it with regret than to keep it.
• Big fish eat little fish.
• The tongue is the worst piece of meat in the world.
• One simple maxim is often worth more than two good friends.
• In a house of gold, the clocks are made of lead.
• What good is a golden gallows if they are going to hang you?
• To be a fool at the right time is also an art.
• Little strokes fell great oaks.
• The French work to live, but the Swiss live to work.
• A greedy person and a pauper are practically one and the same.
• As the stone leaves your hand, it belongs to the devil.
• A clean house is a clean mind.
• God lets things go, but only to a point.
• You should not add oil to the fire.

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