Two heads are better than one
Meaning: Collaboration and diverse perspectives lead to better solutions.
Origin: The thought is ancient — Ecclesiastes 4:9 opens with "Two are better than one" — and it was current in English by the late Middle Ages. John Heywood fixed the familiar wording in his 1546 Dialogue of proverbs, the first great anthology of English sayings. It is said when two people solve together what neither could manage alone.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and Italian
- French: Deux têtes valent mieux qu'une (literally: Two heads are worth more than one)
- Spanish: Dos cabezas piensan mejor que una (literally: Two heads think better than one)
- Japanese: 三人寄れば文殊の知恵 (Sannin yoreba monju no chie) (literally: Three people together have the wisdom of Manjushri)
- German: Vier Augen sehen mehr als zwei (literally: Four eyes see more than two)
- Italian: Due teste son migliori che una (literally: Two heads are better than one)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- The grass is always greener on the other side — What others have always seems better than what you have.
- A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush — It's better to have something certain now than to risk it for something uncertain in the…
- Every cloud has a silver lining — There is always something positive in every difficult situation.
- Look before you leap — Think carefully before acting.
- A stitch in time saves nine — Fixing a problem early prevents bigger issues later.
- Don't count your chickens before they hatch — Don't assume success before it happens.
From our tongue twisters
- Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische, frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritz. — The German 'f' / 'sch' staple.
- Sopra la panca la capra campa, sotto la panca la capra crepa. — A beloved 'c' / 'p' rhythm trap.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? — A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.