ProverbHuman NatureGerman originc. 1180

Blood is thicker than water

Meaning: Family bonds are stronger than other relationships.

Origin: The medieval German beast epic Reinhart Fuchs (c. 1180) has an early version: kin-blood is not spoiled by water. In English, John Ray's proverb collection of 1670 includes "Blood is thicker than water," and Walter Scott used it in Guy Mannering (1815). A popular claim that the original was "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb" has no early source.

Equivalents in Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, and 3 more languages

  • Spanish: La sangre es más espesa que el agua (literally: Blood is thicker than water)
  • Japanese: 血は水よりも濃い (Chi wa mizu yori mo koi) (literally: Blood is thicker than water)
  • German: Blut ist dicker als Wasser (literally: Blood is thicker than water)
  • Italian: Il sangue non è acqua (literally: Blood is not water)
  • Dutch: Het bloed kruipt waar het niet gaan kan (literally: Blood creeps where it cannot walk)
  • Russian: Кровь не вода (Krov' ne voda) (literally: Blood is not water)
  • Korean: 피는 물보다 진하다 (Pineun mulboda jinhada) (literally: Blood is thicker than water)
  • Arabic: الدم ما بيصير مي (Ed-damm mā biṣīr mayy) (literally: Blood doesn't turn into water)

More proverbs about Human Nature

Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words

Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.

  • 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.
  • Tsundoku Buying books and letting them pile up unread — a habit, not a crime.

Browse all untranslatable words →

Keep exploring

Explore all proverbs →