ProverbPerseverance
Russian origin
Russian originПосле драки кулаками не машут (Posle draki kulakami ne mashut)
Meaning: It's pointless to act once the moment has passed.
Literally: You don't swing your fists after the fight
Example: “Теперь уже поздно спорить, после драки кулаками не машут.” — It's too late to argue now: there's no point closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 3 more languages
English: Advice comes too late when a thing is done.
French: À chose faite, conseil pris (literally: When a thing is done, advice is taken)
Spanish: A burro muerto, la cebada al rabo (literally: When the donkey is dead, the barley at its tail)
Japanese: 後の祭り (Ato no matsuri) (literally: After the festival (too late to be of use))
German: Rat nach der Tat kommt zu spät (literally: Advice after the deed comes too late)
Italian: Dopo il fatto il consiglio non vale (literally: After the deed, advice is worthless)
Portuguese: Casa roubada, trancas à porta (literally: House robbed, then bolts on the door)
Dutch: Als het kalf verdronken is, dempt men de put (literally: When the calf has drowned, they fill in the well)
Origin: Swinging your fists after the fight is over achieves nothing.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Beloruchka Someone who dodges dirty or hard work — a person whose hands stay conspicuously clean.
- Zapoi A bender running for days, in which a person drops out of ordinary life entirely.
- Toska A dull ache of the soul; a great longing with nothing in particular to long for.
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