ProverbMoralityJapanese origin

驕れる者久しからず (Ogoreru mono hisashikarazu)

Meaning: The proud and powerful do not stay on top for long.

Literally: The arrogant do not last long

Example: “あれほど威張っていた社長も、今は会社を追われた。驕れる者久しからずだ。” — That arrogant CEO has now been forced out of the company: pride comes before a fall.

Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and 2 more languages

  • English: Pride comes before a fall
  • French: L'orgueil précède la chute (literally: Pride precedes the fall)
  • Spanish: La soberbia precede a la caída (literally: Pride precedes the fall)
  • German: Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall (literally: Arrogance comes before the fall)
  • Italian: La superbia andò a cavallo e tornò a piedi (literally: Pride rode out on horseback and came back on foot)
  • Dutch: Hoogmoed komt voor de val (literally: Pride comes before the fall)
  • Chinese: 骄兵必败 (Jiāo bīng bì bài) (literally: An arrogant army is bound to lose)

Origin: A variant of the famous opening of The Tale of the Heike, the war epic of the Taira clan's rise and fall, which reads 驕れる人も久しからず: the proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night.

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