ProverbHuman NatureLatin origin

Custom is second nature.

Meaning: Habits ingrained through repetition become as automatic and instinctive as inborn traits.

Origin: Cicero wrote that habit creates a kind of second nature, and the idea runs back to Aristotle. The English proverb means that what we do often enough becomes as natural to us as anything we were born with.

Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, and 6 more languages

  • French: L'habitude est une seconde nature (literally: Habit is a second nature)
  • Spanish: La costumbre es otra naturaleza (literally: Custom is second nature)
  • Japanese: 習い性となる (Narai sei to naru) (literally: What is practiced becomes one's nature)
  • German: Gewohnheit ist die zweite Natur (literally: Habit is the second nature)
  • Italian: L’abito è una seconda natura (literally: Custom is second nature)
  • Portuguese: O hábito é uma segunda natureza (literally: Habit is a second nature)
  • Dutch: De gewoonte is een tweede natuur (literally: Habit is a second nature)
  • Russian: Привычка — вторая натура (Privychka — vtoraya natura) (literally: Habit is second nature)
  • Polish: Przyzwyczajenie jest drugą naturą (literally: Habit is second nature)
  • Chinese: 习惯成自然 (Xíguàn chéng zìrán) (literally: Habit becomes nature)
  • Turkish: Alışmış kudurmuştan beterdir (literally: Someone used to a thing is worse than someone gone mad)

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