One good turn deserves another.
Meaning: Reciprocal kindness creates a cycle where helping others motivates them to help you in return.
Origin: The earliest record is in a Latin manuscript from around 1400, and John Heywood's 1546 collection has "One good turn asketh another." The Latin manus manum lavat — one hand washes the other — expresses the same give-and-take.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: A beau jeu beau retour (literally: One good turn deserves another)
- Spanish: Amor con amor se paga (literally: Love is repaid with love)
- Japanese: 情けは人の為ならず (Nasake wa hito no tame narazu) (literally: Compassion is not for another's sake (it returns to you))
- German: Eine Hand wäscht die andere (literally: One hand washes the other)
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