a stitch in time saves nine

a stitch in time saves nine

English

Etymology

From the practice of mending a small tear in cloth before it becomes a larger one.

Proverb

a stitch in time saves nine

1. A little effort expended sooner to fix a small problem prevents it from becoming a larger problem requiring more effort to fix later.
2. A little preparation can eliminate the need for repairs later.

Translations

a timely effort can prevent larger problems

Chinese: Mandarin: 小洞不補，大洞吃苦, 小洞不补，大洞吃苦 (xiǎo dòng bù bǔ, dà dòng chīkǔ), 防微杜漸 (zh), 防微杜渐 (zh) (fángwēidùjiàn), 事半功倍 (zh) (shìbàngōngbèi) (half the work, twice the effect) Danish: udsæt ikke til i morgen, det du kan gøre i dag Dutch: werk op tijd maakt welbereid Finnish: parempi katsoa kuin katua French: un point fait à temps en épargne cent, mieux vaut prévenir que guérir (fr) German: was du heute kannst besorgen, das verschiebe nicht auf morgen (de) Greek: κάλλιο γαϊδουρόδενε παρά γαϊδουρογύρευε (el) (kállio gaïdouródene pará gaïdourogýreve) Hungarian: a rest kétszer fárad (hu) Italian: meglio prevenire che curare, prevenire è meglio che curare, è meglio prevenire che curare Japanese: 今日の一針明日の十針 (kyō no hitohari asu no tohari) Korean: 호미로 막을 것을 가래로 막는다 (ko) (homiro mageul geoseul garaero mangneunda, literally “what can be stopped up with a short-handled hoe must be done with a shovel later”) Norwegian: Bokmål: utsett ikke til i morgen, det du kan gjøre i dag (no) Polish: lepiej zapobiegać niż leczyć (pl) Portuguese: é melhor prevenir do que remediar Russian: оди́н стежо́к, сде́ланный во́время, сто́ит девяти́ (odín stežók, sdélannyj vóvremja, stóit devjatí) Serbo-Croatian: ono što možeš učiniti danas, ne ostavljaj za sutra Spanish: más vale prevenir que curar Swedish: bättre att stämma i bäcken än i ån; (ellipsis) stämma i bäcken (sv) Turkish: bir mıh nal kurtarır, bir nal bir at kurtarır