A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
Meaning: It's better to have something certain now than to risk it for something uncertain in the future.
Origin: The idea goes back to the fable of the hawk and the nightingale, told by the Greek poet Hesiod and later counted among Aesop's: the hawk refuses to free the small bird in its claws for the promise of bigger prey. Early English versions vary the numbers — John Heywood's 1546 collection has "Better one bird in hand than ten in the wood" — and John Ray's collection of 1670 settles on two in the bush.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras (literally: One 'here you go' is worth more than two 'you'll get it')
- Spanish: Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando (literally: A bird in hand is worth more than a hundred flying)
- Japanese: 明日の百より今日の五十 (Asu no hyaku yori kyō no gojū) (literally: Fifty today is better than a hundred tomorrow)
- German: Der Spatz in der Hand ist besser als die Taube auf dem Dach (literally: The sparrow in the hand is better than the pigeon on the roof)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Every cloud has a silver lining — There is always something positive in every difficult situation.
- Look before you leap — Think carefully before acting.
- A stitch in time saves nine — Fixing a problem early prevents bigger issues later.
- Don't count your chickens before they hatch — Don't assume success before it happens.
- Knowledge is power — Education and learning give you strength and advantage.
- Time heals all wounds — Emotional pain fades with the passage of time.
From our tongue twisters
- Trentatré trentini entrarono a Trento tutti e trentatré trotterellando. — An unbroken stampede of 'tr' and 't'.
- 東京特許許可局 (Tōkyō tokkyo kyokakyoku) — A machine-gun of 'kyo' / 'kyoku' sounds.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. — An 's' / 'si' minefield.