Italian originChi dorme non piglia pesci
Meaning: You snooze, you lose.
Literally: He who sleeps doesn't catch fish
Example: “Le iscrizioni sono finite in un'ora: chi dorme non piglia pesci.” — Registration filled up in an hour: you snooze, you lose.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 4 more languages
English: The early bird catches the worm
French: L'avenir appartient à ceux qui se lèvent tôt (literally: The future belongs to those who wake up early)
Spanish: Al que madruga, Dios le ayuda (literally: God helps those who rise early)
Japanese: 早起きは三文の徳 (Hayaoki wa sanmon no toku) (literally: Waking early is worth three coins)
German: Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund (literally: The morning hour has gold in its mouth)
Portuguese: Deus ajuda quem cedo madruga (literally: God helps those who rise early)
Dutch: De morgenstond heeft goud in de mond (literally: The morning hour has gold in its mouth)
Russian: Кто рано встаёт, тому Бог подаёт (Kto rano vstayot, tomu Bog podayot) (literally: God gives to whoever rises early)
Polish: Kto rano wstaje, temu Pan Bóg daje (literally: God gives to whoever rises early)
Origin: Traces to the Latin comedy playwright Plautus, whose 3rd–2nd century BC play Rudens (The Rope) has a fisherman named Gripus declare, in essence, that whoever sleeps willingly does so without profit and to their own detriment — spoken as Gripus tries to prove to himself and his master that he is a genuinely hardworking, alert man who wastes no time. The proverb, in its now-standard fishing-specific form, draws on the everyday practical reality of the trade: a fisherman who dozed off, whether from exhaustion or carelessness, would miss the exact moment a fish took the bait, precisely the kind of narrow window that rewards constant attentiveness and punishes anyone who lets their guard down.
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