charity begins at home
Meaning: One's first duty is to one's own family.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “He sends money to his parents before any collection at work: charity begins at home.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: A proverb recorded in English from the 14th century; John Wycliffe wrote that charity should begin at himself. It is often used to excuse looking after one's own first.
Equivalents in other languages
- Russian: своя рубашка ближе к телу (svoya rubashka blizhe k telu) — literally: one's own shirt is closer to the body
More idioms — Daily Life
- a load of nonsense — Something completely untrue or silly.
- all or nothing — With no middle way; everything is risked on one outcome.
- an accident waiting to happen — Someone or something very likely to cause trouble or harm.
- on a wing and a prayer — Only just managing, with luck rather than means.
- welcome to the club — Said to someone who has just joined you in a shared situation, usually an unwelcome one.
- tell me another one — Said to someone whose story is obviously untrue.
More English idioms
- two men and a dog — A very small crowd.
- has the cat got your tongue? — Said to someone who stays silent when they should speak.
- until one is blue in the face — For as long as one likes, with no result.
- go off the rails — To lose control of one's life or behavior.
- there's nothing for it — There is no other choice.
- on the back of an envelope — Roughly worked out, without proper tools or care.
From our untranslatable words
- Khalyava — Something good got for free and without effort — and, strictly, something you were never…
- Beloruchka — Someone who dodges dirty or hard work — a person whose hands stay conspicuously clean.
- Zapoi — A bender running for days, in which a person drops out of ordinary life entirely.