ProverbPerseverance
French origin
French originC'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron
Meaning: You learn a skill by practicing it.
Literally: It is by forging that one becomes a blacksmith
Example: “Tes premiers gâteaux étaient ratés, mais c'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron.” — Your first cakes were failures, but practice makes perfect.
Equivalents in English, Spanish, Japanese, German, Dutch, and 3 more languages
English: Practice makes perfect
Spanish: La práctica hace al maestro (literally: Practice makes the master)
Japanese: 習うより慣れろ (Narau yori narero) (literally: Get used to it rather than learning it)
German: Übung macht den Meister (literally: Practice makes the master)
Dutch: Oefening baart kunst (literally: Practice gives birth to skill)
Russian: Навык мастера ставит (Navyk mastera stavit) (literally: Skill makes the master)
Chinese: 熟能生巧 (Shú néng shēng qiǎo) (literally: Familiarity breeds skill)
Korean: 서당 개 삼 년에 풍월을 읊는다 (Seodang gae sam nyeone pungworeul eumneunda) (literally: After three years at the village school, even the dog recites poetry)
Origin: The French form of a Latin proverb, fabricando fit faber: by working, one becomes a smith. The Académie française dictionary recorded the proverbial sense in 1762, and Raymond Queneau parodied it as c'est en écrivant qu'on devient écriveron.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
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