
ProverbWisdom
Spanish origin
Dios aprieta pero no ahoga
Meaning: Hard times may press you hard, but you are never given more than you can bear.
Literally: God squeezes but does not choke
Example: “Perdí el trabajo, pero me salió otro a la semana. Dios aprieta pero no ahoga.” — I lost my job but found another within a week: God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.
Equivalents in English, French, Italian, and Portuguese
English: God tempers the wind to the shorn sheep.
French: À brebis tondue, Dieu mesure le vent (literally: To the shorn sheep, God measures the wind)
Italian: Dio manda il freddo secondo i panni (literally: God sends the cold according to the clothes)
Portuguese: Deus dá o frio conforme a roupa (literally: God gives the cold according to the clothing)
Origin: The image is of a grip that tightens without ever cutting off the breath.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Erre con erre cigarro, erre con erre barril; rápido ruedan los carros sobre los rieles del ferrocarril. The definitive Spanish rr drill — unrelenting double-r from start to finish.
- Parangaricutirimícuaro Not a sentence but a single word — a legendary 22-letter pronunciation challenge from a r…
- Pablito clavó un clavito, ¿qué clavito clavó Pablito? A bouncy drill on the 'cl' cluster.
Keep exploring