Laughter is the best medicine
Meaning: Humor and joy can help overcome difficulties.
Origin: The thought is biblical: Proverbs 17:22 says "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." The modern wording was popularized by Reader's Digest, whose long-running joke column is titled "Laughter, the Best Medicine."
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Le rire est le meilleur remède (literally: Laughter is the best remedy)
- Spanish: La risa es la mejor medicina (literally: Laughter is the best medicine)
- Japanese: 笑う門には福来たる (Warau kado ni wa fuku kitaru) (literally: Fortune comes to the gate that laughs)
- German: Lachen ist die beste Medizin (literally: Laughter is the best medicine)
More proverbs about Human Nature
- A watched pot never boils — Time seems to pass slowly when you are waiting.
- Beggars can't be choosers — When you need help, you accept what's offered.
- It takes a village to raise a child — Community support is essential for child development.
- One man's trash is another man's treasure — What one person discards, another may value.
- Absence makes the heart grow fonder — Being apart makes you appreciate someone more.
- There's no place like home — Home is where you feel most comfortable.
From our tongue twisters
- O papa papava o papo do pipo; o pipo papava o papo do papa. — A perfectly palindromic 'p' construction that reverses meaning when you swap the nouns.
- На дворе трава, на траве дрова. (Na dvore trava, na trave drova.) — A short but nasty 'tr/dr' blend — the consonant clusters that trip up every learner of Ru…
- Шла Саша по шоссе и сосала сушку. (Shla Sasha po shosse i sosala sushku.) — A merciless 'sh/s/ss' collision — Sasha walking, sucking, and all those sibilants.