Beauty is only skin deep
Meaning: Physical appearance is superficial; character matters more.
Origin: From Sir Thomas Overbury's poem "A Wife," published after he was poisoned in the Tower of London in 1613. The poem says that all the bodily beauty of a wife is only skin deep, and urges a man to choose a wife for her character instead.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: La beauté n'est que superficielle (literally: Beauty is only superficial)
- Spanish: La belleza es solo piel (literally: Beauty is only skin)
- Japanese: 美人薄命 (Bijin hakumei) (literally: Beauty is fleeting)
- German: Schönheit vergeht, Tugend besteht (literally: Beauty fades, virtue remains)
More proverbs about Human Nature
- East or west, home is best — No matter where you go, home remains the best place.
- Variety is the spice of life — Diversity makes life interesting.
- Speak of the devil — Said when someone appears just as they're being discussed.
- You can't please everyone — It's impossible to satisfy every person all the time.
- A leopard can't change its spots — People can't fundamentally change their nature.
- When the cat's away, the mice will play — People behave freely when authority is absent.
From our untranslatable words
- Komorebi — The dappled light that filters through leaves and scatters across the ground.
- Schadenfreude — The guilty little pleasure of taking satisfaction in someone else's misfortune.
- Wabi-sabi — Finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and the worn or incomplete.