You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink

Meaning: You can offer help, but you can't force someone to accept it.

Origin: English proverb from the 12th century, one of the oldest in the language.

Translations

• French: On ne peut pas forcer quelqu'un à faire ce qu'il ne veut pas (literally: You can't force someone to do what they don't want)
• Spanish: Puedes llevar un caballo al agua, pero no obligarlo a beber (literally: You can take a horse to water, but not force it to drink)
• Japanese: 馬を水辺に連れて行けるが水を飲ませることはできない (Uma wo mizube ni tsurete ikeru ga mizu wo nomaseru koto wa dekinai) (literally: You can lead a horse to water but can't make it drink)

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