ProverbWisdom
English origin1634
English origin1634Every cloud has a silver lining
Meaning: There is always something positive in every difficult situation.
Example: “The flight was canceled, but every cloud has a silver lining: we got an extra day in Rome.”
Origin: The image comes from John Milton's masque Comus (1634). A young lady, lost at night in a wild wood, sees a dark cloud "turn forth her silver lining on the night" and takes heart. By the 19th century the proverb had become a stock phrase of consolation, and "silver lining" now stands on its own for the hopeful side of bad news.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, and 7 more languages
French: Après la pluie, le beau temps (literally: After rain, good weather)
Spanish: No hay mal que por bien no venga (literally: There is no evil that doesn't come for good)
Japanese: 雨降って地固まる (Ame futte ji katamaru) (literally: After rain, the ground hardens)
German: Kein Unglück ist so groß, es trägt ein Glück im Schoß (literally: No misfortune is so great that it doesn't carry some luck in its lap)
Italian: Non tutti i mali vengono per nuocere (literally: Not every misfortune comes to do harm)
Portuguese: Há males que vêm por bem (literally: Some misfortunes come for the good)
Dutch: Na regen komt zonneschijn (literally: After rain comes sunshine)
Russian: Нет худа без добра (Net khuda bez dobra) (literally: There's no bad without good)
Polish: Nie ma tego złego, co by na dobre nie wyszło (literally: There's no bad that doesn't turn out for the good)
Chinese: 塞翁失马，焉知非福 (Sài wēng shī mǎ, yān zhī fēi fú) (literally: The old man lost his horse, but who knows it wasn't luck?)
Arabic: رب ضارة نافعة (Rubba ḍārratin nāfiʿa) (literally: Perhaps a harm is a benefit)
Turkish: Her işte bir hayır vardır (literally: There is some good in everything)
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