ProverbWisdom
Chinese origin
Chinese origin无风不起浪 (Wú fēng bù qǐ làng)
Meaning: Rumors usually have some basis.
Literally: Without wind there are no waves
Example: “大家都在传他要辞职，无风不起浪。” — Everyone says he's going to resign: where there's smoke, there's fire.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 6 more languages
English: Where there is smoke, there is fire
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)
Turkish: Ateş olmayan yerden duman çıkmaz (literally: Smoke doesn't rise where there's no fire)
Origin: Waves need wind; talk needs something to start it.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- גנן גידל דגן בגן, דגן גדול גדל בגן. (Ganan gidel dagan bagan, dagan gadol gadal bagan.) A 'g / d / n' reshuffle — the same three consonants rearrange in every word.
- Barbara Ara bar Ara araba bara rabarbara. An unbroken 'bar / ara / rab' roll built almost entirely from the same handful of syllabl…
- Ular melingkar-lingkar di atas pagar pak Umar. A rolling 'l / r / ling' drill that loops like the snake it describes.
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