ProverbPerseverance
English origin1539
English origin1539Every dog has its day
Meaning: Everyone will have their moment of success or good fortune.
Origin: Richard Taverner's 1539 English version of Erasmus's proverbs has "A dog hath a day," and Shakespeare's Hamlet says "The cat will mew, and dog will have his day." Even the lowliest person gets a moment of success.
Equivalents in Japanese, German, Russian, and Korean
Japanese: 犬も歩けば棒に当たる (Inu mo arukeba bō ni ataru) (literally: Even a dog walking will hit a stick)
German: Auch ein blindes Huhn findet mal ein Korn (literally: Even a blind hen finds a grain of corn now and then)
Russian: Будет и на нашей улице праздник (Budet i na nashey ulitse prazdnik) (literally: There will be a holiday on our street too)
Korean: 쥐구멍에도 볕 들 날 있다 (Jwigumeongedo byeot deul nal itda) (literally: Even a mouse hole has a day when the sun shines in)
Explore another collection: Idioms
Colorful expressions from dozens of languages, with their word-for-word translations.
- Avoir un poil dans la main To be extremely lazy.
- Prendre ses jambes à son cou To run away very fast.
- C'est la croix et la bannière It is an enormous effort or ordeal.
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