ProverbMoralityPortuguese origin

Faz o que eu digo, não faças o que eu faço

Meaning: Said, often ironically, of people who give advice they don't follow.

Literally: Do what I say, not what I do

Example: “O pai diz para não usar o telemóvel à mesa, mas está sempre ao telefone. Faz o que eu digo, não faças o que eu faço.” — Dad says no phones at the table, but he's always on his: do as I say, not as I do.

Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 2 more languages

  • English: Practice what you preach
  • French: Il faut prêcher par l'exemple (literally: One must preach by example)
  • Spanish: Predica con el ejemplo (literally: Preach with the example)
  • Japanese: 言行一致 (Genkō itchi) (literally: Words and actions in accord)
  • German: Wasser predigen und Wein trinken (literally: To preach water and drink wine)
  • Italian: Predicare bene e razzolare male (literally: To preach well and scratch about badly)
  • Chinese: 以身作则 (Yǐ shēn zuò zé) (literally: Make yourself the example)

Origin: A popular story, not confirmed, links it to Frei Tomás, a 16th-century Portuguese preacher; another form of the saying is bem prega Frei Tomás: faz o que ele diz, não o que ele faz, Friar Tomás preaches well: do what he says, not what he does.

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