People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

Meaning: Don't criticize others if you have the same faults.

Example: “He mocked my messy desk, but people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones; have you seen his car?”

Origin: Chaucer already has the thought in Troilus and Criseyde (c. 1385): whoever has a head made of glass should beware of stones in a fight. George Herbert's Outlandish Proverbs (1640) moves the glass to the house — whoever lives in a house of glass must not throw stones at another. The warning is against accusing others of faults you share.

Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Portuguese, and 4 more languages

French: Il faut balayer devant sa porte (literally: One must sweep in front of one's own door)
Spanish: El que tiene tejado de vidrio no tire piedras al del vecino (literally: He who has a glass roof should not throw stones at the neighbor's)
Japanese: 猿の尻笑い (Saru no shiriwarai) (literally: A monkey laughing at another monkey's red bottom)
German: Wer im Glashaus sitzt, soll nicht mit Steinen werfen (literally: He who sits in a glass house should not throw stones)
Portuguese: Quem tem telhados de vidro não atira pedras (literally: Whoever has a glass roof doesn't throw stones)
Dutch: Wie boter op zijn hoofd heeft, moet uit de zon blijven (literally: Whoever has butter on his head should stay out of the sun)
Russian: Сучец в чужом глазу видишь, а в своём и бревна не видишь (Suchets v chuzhom glazu vidish', a v svoyom i brevna ne vidish') (literally: You see the speck in another's eye, not the log in your own)
Chinese: 五十步笑百步 (Wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù) (literally: Running fifty paces, laughing at one who ran a hundred)
Arabic: من كان بيته من زجاج فلا يرشق الناس بالحجارة (Man kāna baytuhu min zujāj falā yarshuq an-nās bil-ḥijāra) (literally: Whoever's house is glass shouldn't pelt people with stones)

On the map

Look at yourself first

The same idea in 21 versions, colored by the picture each one uses. Each country shows the version in its main language.

World map: throwing stones (English, Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Italian, Arabic); specks and beams (Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Hebrew, Indonesian, Malay); your own doorstep (French, Czech); other pictures (Dutch, Japanese, Chinese).

Download the full map with every saying (PNG)See all world maps

11 more languages on the map

Portuguese (Brazil) Quem tem telhado de vidro não atira pedra no do vizinho“Whoever has a glass roof doesn't throw stones at the neighbor's”Source: Catraca Livre; Olhar Digital (Brazilian news sites)
Swedish Man ska inte kasta sten i glashus“One shouldn't throw stones in a glass house”Source: Wiktionary; Sublearn
Danish Man skal ikke kaste med sten, når man selv bor i et glashus“One shouldn't throw stones when one lives in a glass house oneself”Source: Wiktionary (variant); Sublearn
Norwegian Man skal ikke kaste sten i glasshus“One shouldn't throw stones in a glass house”Source: Wiktionary; Sublearn
Italian Chi è senza peccato scagli la prima pietra“Let whoever is without sin cast the first stone”Source: Wiktionary; Studentville (from John 8:7)
Polish Źdźbło w oku bliźniego widzisz, a belki w swoim nie dostrzegasz“You see the speck in your neighbor's eye but miss the beam in your own”Source: Wiktionary; Polski Directory (proverbs); from Matthew 7:3
Hungarian Más szemében a szálkát is meglátja, a magáéban a gerendát sem“He spots even the splinter in another's eye, but not the beam in his own”Source: TINTA Magyar közmondásszótár (Hungarian proverb dictionary); Expressio
Hebrew טול קורה מבין עיניך (Tol kora mi-bein einekha)“Take the beam from between your own eyes”Source: Talmud, Bava Batra 15b
Indonesian Kuman di seberang lautan tampak, gajah di pelupuk mata tidak tampak“You see a germ across the sea, not the elephant on your eyelid”Source: KBBI, Indonesia's official dictionary
Malay Seekor kuman di negeri China dapat dilihat, tetapi gajah bertenggek di batang hidung tiada sedar“You see a germ in China, not the elephant perched on your nose”Source: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
Czech Zamést si před vlastním prahem“To sweep in front of your own doorstep”Source: Wiktionary; everyday use on Czech forums (poradte.cz)