ProverbPerseverance
Dutch origin
Dutch originKeulen en Aken zijn niet op één dag gebouwd
Meaning: Great things take time.
Literally: Cologne and Aachen weren't built in one day
Example: “Je eerste website is nog niet perfect, maar Keulen en Aken zijn niet op één dag gebouwd.” — Your first website isn't perfect yet, but Rome wasn't built in a day.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 4 more languages
English: Rome wasn't built in a day
French: Rome ne s'est pas faite en un jour (literally: Rome was not made in a day)
Spanish: Roma no se construyó en un día (literally: Rome was not built in a day)
Japanese: ローマは一日にして成らず (Rōma wa ichinichi ni shite narazu) (literally: Rome was not built in one day)
German: Rom wurde nicht an einem Tag erbaut (literally: Rome was not built in one day)
Italian: Roma non fu fatta in un giorno (literally: Rome was not made in a day)
Portuguese: Roma e Pavia não se fizeram num dia (literally: Rome and Pavia weren't made in a day)
Russian: Москва не сразу строилась (Moskva ne srazu stroilas') (literally: Moscow wasn't built all at once)
Polish: Nie od razu Kraków zbudowano (literally: Kraków wasn't built all at once)
Origin: Dutch chose two great cities just across the German border: Cologne with its cathedral, begun in 1248 and finished only in 1880, and Aachen, Charlemagne's capital.
Explore another collection: Idioms
Colorful expressions from dozens of languages, with their word-for-word translations.
- hout snijden to be convincing or logically sound; to hold up under scrutiny.
- water bij de wijn doen to compromise or make a concession in a dispute or negotiation.
- de teerling is geworpen an irrevocable decision has been made; the course of action is now set in motion.
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