ProverbHuman Nature
French origin
French originL'absence est à l'amour ce qu'est au feu le vent
Meaning: Separation kills a weak love and strengthens a strong one.
Literally: Absence is to love what wind is to fire
Example: “Ils ont passé un an chacun d'un côté de l'océan et s'aiment plus que jamais : l'absence est à l'amour ce qu'est au feu le vent.” — They spent a year on opposite sides of the ocean and are more in love than ever: absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Equivalents in English, Spanish, and Japanese
English: Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Spanish: La ausencia es al amor lo que al fuego el aire (literally: Absence is to love what the wind is to fire)
Japanese: 会えない時間が愛を育てる (Aenai jikan ga ai wo sodateru) (literally: Time apart nurtures love)
Origin: From Bussy-Rabutin's Histoire amoureuse des Gaules (1660s), which continues: il éteint le petit, il allume le grand, the wind puts out the small fire and fans the great one.
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