a stitch in time saves nine

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From the practice of mending a small tear in cloth when first noticed ("in time"), before it becomes a larger one requiring more stitches.

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Chinese Mandarin: 小洞不補,大洞吃苦 /小洞不补 — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Chinese Mandarin: 大洞吃苦 (xiǎo dòng bù bǔ, dà dòng chīkǔ) — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Chinese Mandarin: 防微杜漸 /防微杜渐 (fángwēidùjiàn) — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Chinese Mandarin: 事半功倍 (shìbàngōngbèi) — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Danish: udsæt ikke til i morgen, det du kan gøre i dag — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Dutch: werk op tijd maakt welbereid — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Finnish: parempi oja tukkia kuin joki — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• French: un point fait à temps en épargne cent — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• French: mieux vaut prévenir que guérir — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• German: was du heute kannst besorgen, das verschiebe nicht auf morgen — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Greek: κάλλιο γαϊδουρόδενε παρά γαϊδουρογύρευε (kállio gaïdouródene pará gaïdourogýreve) — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Hungarian: a rest kétszer fárad — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Italian: meglio prevenire che curare — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Italian: prevenire è meglio che curare — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Italian: è meglio prevenire che curare — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Japanese: 今日の一針明日の十針 (kyō no hitohari asu no tohari) — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Norwegian Bokmål: utsett ikke til i morgen, det du kan gjøre i dag — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Polish: lepiej zapobiegać niż leczyć — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Portuguese: é melhor prevenir do que remediar — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Russian: оди́н стежо́к, сде́ланный во́время, сто́ит девяти́ (odín stežók, sdélannyj vóvremja, stóit devjatí) — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Serbo-Croatian: ono što možeš učiniti danas, ne ostavljaj za sutra — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Spanish: más vale prevenir que curar — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Swedish: bättre att stämma i bäcken än i ån — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Swedish: stämma i bäcken — a timely effort can prevent larger problems
• Turkish: bir mıh nal kurtarır, bir nal bir at kurtarır — a timely effort can prevent larger problems