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Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day

Meaning: Teaching someone is more valuable than doing things for them.

Origin: Often attributed to Chinese philosophy, though the exact origin is debated.

Translations

  • French: Donne un poisson à un homme et il mangera un jour (literally: Give a fish to a man and he eats for a day)
  • Spanish: Dale un pez a un hombre y comerá un día (literally: Give a fish to a man and he eats one day)
  • Japanese: 魚を与えるのではなく釣り方を教えよ (Sakana wo ataeru no de wa naku tsurikata wo oshieyo) (literally: Don't give the fish, teach how to fish)

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