ProverbWisdomTurkish origin

Bir mıh bir nal kurtarır, bir nal bir at kurtarır

Meaning: Small things, neglected, lead to big losses.

Literally: One nail saves a shoe, one shoe saves a horse

Example: “Küçük bir arızayı hemen tamir et. Bir mıh bir nal kurtarır, bir nal bir at kurtarır.” — Fix a small fault right away: a stitch in time saves nine.

Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 2 more languages

  • English: A stitch in time saves nine
  • French: Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir (literally: Better to prevent than to cure)
  • Spanish: Más vale prevenir que lamentar (literally: Better to prevent than to regret)
  • Japanese: 転ばぬ先の杖 (Korobanu saki no tsue) (literally: A cane before falling)
  • German: Vorbeugen ist besser als Heilen (literally: Preventing is better than healing)
  • Portuguese: Mais vale prevenir do que remediar (literally: Better to prevent than to cure)
  • Korean: 호미로 막을 것을 가래로 막는다 (Homiro mageul geoseul garaero mangneunda) (literally: Blocking with a spade what a hoe could have blocked)

Origin: A chain of nails, shoes and horses like the English rhyme "for want of a nail." Mıh is an old word for a nail.

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