ProverbHuman NatureRussian origin

У семи нянек дитя без глазу (U semi nyanek ditya bez glazu)

Meaning: When many people share a responsibility, nobody really takes care of it.

Literally: With seven nannies, the child loses an eye

Example: “Проектом занимались пять отделов, и в итоге всё сорвалось. У семи нянек дитя без глазу.” — Five departments were in charge of the project, and in the end it all fell through: too many cooks spoil the broth.

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

  • English: Too many cooks spoil the broth
  • French: Trop de cuisiniers gâtent la sauce (literally: Too many cooks spoil the sauce)
  • Spanish: Muchas manos en un plato hacen mucho garabato (literally: Many hands on a plate make a mess)
  • Japanese: 船頭多くして船山に登る (Sendō ōku shite fune yama ni noboru) (literally: With too many captains, the ship climbs the mountain)
  • German: Viele Köche verderben den Brei (literally: Many cooks spoil the porridge)
  • Italian: Tanti galli a cantar non fa mai giorno (literally: With so many roosters crowing, day never breaks)
  • Dutch: Veel koks bederven de brij (literally: Many cooks spoil the porridge)
  • Polish: Gdzie kucharek sześć, tam nie ma co jeść (literally: Where there are six cooks, there's nothing to eat)
  • Korean: 사공이 많으면 배가 산으로 간다 (Sagongi maneumyeon baega saneuro ganda) (literally: With too many boatmen, the boat ends up on a mountain)

Origin: With seven nannies each assuming another is watching, the child gets hurt. Без глазу means both without supervision and, literally, without an eye.

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