ProverbWisdom
German origin
German originErst wägen, dann wagen
Meaning: Think carefully before taking a risk.
Literally: First weigh, then dare
Example: “Bevor du kündigst, überleg dir alles genau. Erst wägen, dann wagen.” — Before you quit, think it all through: look before you leap.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Dutch, and 4 more languages
English: Look before you leap
French: Prudence est mère de sûreté (literally: Prudence is the mother of safety)
Spanish: Antes que te cases, mira lo que haces (literally: Before you marry, look at what you're doing)
Japanese: 石橋を叩いて渡る (Ishibashi wo tataite wataru) (literally: Cross the stone bridge after tapping it)
Dutch: Bezint eer gij begint (literally: Reflect before you begin)
Russian: Семь раз отмерь, один раз отрежь (Sem' raz otmer', odin raz otrezh') (literally: Measure seven times, cut once)
Chinese: 三思而行 (Sān sī ér xíng) (literally: Think three times, then act)
Korean: 돌다리도 두들겨 보고 건너라 (Doldarido dudeulgyeo bogo geonneora) (literally: Tap even a stone bridge before you cross)
Arabic: في التأني السلامة وفي العجلة الندامة (Fī t-taʾannī s-salāma wa-fī l-ʿajala n-nadāma) (literally: In patience lies safety, in haste regret)
Origin: Two near-identical verbs, wägen (to weigh) and wagen (to dare). It was linked to Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke by 1890, when it appeared on a medal for his 90th birthday, but there is no evidence he coined it.
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