If at first you don't succeed, try, try again
Meaning: Persistence is essential to success.
Origin: Thomas H. Palmer printed it in his Teacher's Manual (1840), a book of advice for schoolteachers: "'Tis a lesson you should heed, / Try, try again; / If at first you don't succeed, / Try, try again." The educator William Edward Hickson helped spread it through his collections of verse for children, and it has been drilled into schoolchildren ever since.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Si au premier coup tu ne réussis pas, essaie encore (literally: If at first you don't succeed, try again)
- Spanish: Si a la primera no lo logras, intenta de nuevo (literally: If at first you don't succeed, try again)
- Japanese: 七転び八起き (Nanakorobi yaoki) (literally: Seven falls, eight rises)
- German: Beharrlichkeit führt zum Ziel (literally: Persistence leads to the goal)
More proverbs about Perseverance
- Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today — Avoid procrastination.
- Blood, sweat, and tears — Great achievement requires immense effort and sacrifice.
- The first step is the hardest — Starting something new requires the most courage.
- Patience is a virtue — The ability to wait calmly is a valuable quality.
- A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor — Hardship and challenges are what build true expertise and resilience.
- Dripping water hollows out stone — Persistent small efforts accomplish what force alone cannot.
From our idioms
- faire ses dents — A baby is teething and developing their first teeth.
- avoir le compas dans l'oeil — Having excellent judgment of distance, measurement, or proportion.
- faire la soupe à la grimace — Complaining or grumbling about something constantly.