He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything
Meaning: Good health is the foundation upon which all other good things in life are built.
Origin: Circulated both as an Arabic proverb and as a line by the Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle, but neither attribution comes with a traceable source, so its true origin is unknown.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Celui qui a la santé a l'espoir, et celui qui a l'espoir a tout (literally: He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything)
- Spanish: Quien tiene salud tiene esperanza, y quien tiene esperanza lo tiene todo (literally: He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything)
- Japanese: 健康な者は希望を持ち、希望を持つ者はすべてを持つ (Kenkō na mono wa kibō wo mochi, kibō wo motsu mono wa subete wo motsu) (literally: The healthy have hope, and those with hope have everything)
- German: Gesundheit ist der größte Reichtum (literally: Health is the greatest wealth)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Water finds its own level — People and things naturally settle into their proper place over time.
- The moon is not shamed by the barking of dogs — Those with true integrity remain unaffected by baseless criticism or petty noise.
- The more you know, the more you realize you don't know — True knowledge reveals the vastness of what remains to be learned.
- The greatest wealth is health — Good health is more valuable than any material possession or social status.
- Eagles don't catch flies — People of high purpose and ambition don't concern themselves with petty matters.
- You cannot step into the same river twice — Everything is constantly in flux; no experience can ever truly be repeated.
From our tongue twisters
- 東京特許許可局 (Tōkyō tokkyo kyokakyoku) — A machine-gun of 'kyo' / 'kyoku' sounds.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. — An 's' / 'si' minefield.
- 赤パジャマ黄パジャマ茶パジャマ (Aka pajama, ki pajama, cha pajama) — A rapid-fire drill on colour words; the syllable shift from aka/ki/cha trips the tongue b…