🗣️ Russia: “Don't be born beautiful, be born lucky”

Russian proverb · Europe

Не родись красивой, а родись счастливой

ne rodis' krasivoy, a rodis' schastlivoy

“Don't be born beautiful, be born lucky”

Good fortune outweighs good looks — luck in life matters more than appearance.

About this proverb

Origin country	Russia
Region	Europe
Language	Russian
Romanisation	ne rodis' krasivoy, a rodis' schastlivoy

This saying belongs to the oral tradition of Russia, a country in Europe. Read the full collection of Russia proverbs, or explore the Proverbs of the World index.

Без труда не вытащишь и рыбку из пруда

bez truda ne vytyashchish i rybku iz pruda

“Without effort you can't even pull a fish out of a pond”

Nothing comes without work — even the simplest reward demands effort.

Proverbs are traditional folk heritage (public domain); the translation and explanation are our own plain-English rendering. Stored statically.

Traditional sayings from around the world, each with its original wording, a romanisation, a plain-English translation and what it really means.

Folk wisdom from 6 Africa countries in the collection.

Folk wisdom from 4 Americas countries in the collection.

Folk wisdom from 12 Asia countries in the collection.

Folk wisdom from 15 Europe countries in the collection.

Folk wisdom from 2 Oceania countries in the collection.