All that glitters is not gold
Meaning: Appearances can be misleading.
Origin: Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (c. 1596) has "All that glisters is not gold" on the scroll inside the golden casket, which a suitor wrongly chooses. The idea is much older: Chaucer's The Canon's Yeoman's Tale says that not everything that shines like gold is gold.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Tout ce qui brille n'est pas or (literally: All that shines is not gold)
- Spanish: No todo lo que brilla es oro (literally: Not everything that shines is gold)
- Japanese: 光るもの必ずしも金ならず (Hikaru mono kanarazu shimo kin narazu) (literally: Things that shine are not necessarily gold)
- German: Es ist nicht alles Gold, was glänzt (literally: Not everything that shines is gold)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- The best things in life are free — The most valuable experiences don't cost money.
- If it ain't broke, don't fix it — Don't change something that's working well.
- Money doesn't grow on trees — Money is hard to earn and should be spent wisely.
- When in Rome, do as the Romans do — Adapt to local customs when visiting a new place.
- Keep your friends close and your enemies closer — It's wise to monitor those who might harm you.
- Jack of all trades, master of none — Versatility can come at the cost of expertise.
From our tongue twisters
- W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie i Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie. — The opening of a poem by Julian Tuwim, now Poland's most-quoted tongue twister — the cons…
- Stół z powyłamywanymi nogami. — Six words, almost no vowels — a single noun phrase that non-Polish speakers find impossib…
- 四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十。(Sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shísì shì shísì, sìshí shì sìshí.) — A pure sì/shí tone drill — the two numbers are near-identical and the tones swap each tim…