ProverbMorality
French origin
French originÀ beau jeu, beau retour
Meaning: You get back what you give; good treatment earns good treatment.
Literally: Fair play, fair return
Example: “Il m'a aidé l'an dernier, je l'aide aujourd'hui. À beau jeu, beau retour.” — He helped me last year, I'm helping him today: one good turn deserves another.
Equivalents in English, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, and 4 more languages
English: One good turn deserves another.
Spanish: Amor con amor se paga (literally: Love is repaid with love)
Japanese: 情けは人の為ならず (Nasake wa hito no tame narazu) (literally: Compassion is not for another's sake (it returns to you))
German: Eine Hand wäscht die andere (literally: One hand washes the other)
Italian: Una mano lava l'altra (literally: One hand washes the other)
Portuguese: Uma mão lava a outra (literally: One hand washes the other)
Dutch: De ene hand wast de andere (literally: One hand washes the other)
Polish: Ręka rękę myje (literally: Hand washes hand)
Chinese: 礼尚往来 (Lǐ shàng wǎng lái) (literally: Courtesy calls for reciprocity)
Origin: Beau jeu is fair play, and fair play earns a fair return. It can also be a warning: give a hard time and expect one back.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
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- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. An 's' / 'si' minefield.
- Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend. A gentle 'ta / ten / tan / t'' warm-up that sounds faster than it reads.
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