The famous Italian proverb Chi dorme non piglia pesci – which literally translates to “those who sleep don’t catch fish” – suggests that simply lounging around will get you nowhere. Just as a fisherman must remain vigilant to catch a fish when it bites, achieving success requires constant readiness and action.
Chi dorme non piglia pesci
You snooze, you lose
Many dictionaries compare it to the English proverb the early bird catches the worm, though one could argue that it is actually closer in nature to another Italian expression – il mattino ha l’oro in bocca (literally “the early morning has gold in its mouth”). This idiom means that early risers, like the aforementioned early bird, are often more successful or find more opportunities. Personally, I feel it has much more in common with the common, albeit less elegant expression you snooze, you lose.
Ricordati, chi dorme non piglia pesci, quindi alzati presto domani e comincia a lavorare sul tuo progetto!
Remember, if you snooze you lose, so get up early tomorrow and start working on your project!
An alternative, more Biblical version of this proverb is Chi dorme non pecca, ma non piglia pesce, which translates to “Those who sleep don’t sin, but they don’t catch fish either.”
An interesting aspect of Italian grammar is that you can start a sentence with chi (meaning “who”) followed by a verb in the third person singular to convey the idea of “he who…” or “those who…” Here are some additional examples of other proverbs that use this structure:
- Chi trova un amico trova un tesoro. = He who finds a friend find a treasure.
- Chi semina vento raccoglie tempesta. = He who sows wind reaps a storm.
- Chi va piano va sano e va lontano. = He who goes slowly goes safely and goes far.
- Chi troppo vuole nulla stringe. = He who wants too much ends up with nothing.
- Chi si loda s’imbroda. = He who praises himself gets dirty.
- Chi ben comincia è a metà dell’opera. = He who starts well is halfway through the work.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
