Where there is smoke, there is fire

Meaning: Rumors or signs usually indicate some truth.

Origin: The Roman playwright Plautus wrote flamma fumo est proxima — flame is next to smoke. A late 13th-century French proverb says there is no fire without smoke, nor smoke without fire. It means that rumors usually have some basis in truth.

Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, and 6 more languages

French: Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu (literally: There is no smoke without fire)
Spanish: Donde hay humo, hay fuego (literally: Where there is smoke, there is fire)
Japanese: 火のない所に煙は立たぬ (Hi no nai tokoro ni kemuri wa tatanu) (literally: Smoke doesn't rise where there is no fire)
German: Kein Rauch ohne Feuer (literally: No smoke without fire)
Italian: Non c'è fumo senza arrosto (literally: There's no smoke without a roast)
Portuguese: Não há fumo sem fogo (literally: There's no smoke without fire)
Dutch: Waar rook is, is ook vuur (literally: Where there's smoke, there's also fire)
Russian: Нет дыма без огня (Net dyma bez ognya) (literally: No smoke without fire)
Polish: Nie ma dymu bez ognia (literally: No smoke without fire)
Chinese: 无风不起浪 (Wú fēng bù qǐ làng) (literally: Without wind there are no waves)
Turkish: Ateş olmayan yerden duman çıkmaz (literally: Smoke doesn't rise where there's no fire)