Phrase guide

he who digs a pit for others falls in himself

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

proverb

Meaning 1

Someone that plans harm or misfortune for others may also inadvertently be the recipient of that same misfortune.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مَنْ حَفَرَ حُفْرَةً لِأَخِيهِ وَقَعَ فِيهَا (man ḥafara ḥufratan liʔaḵīhi waqaʕa fīhā) — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Czech: kdo jinému jámu kopá, sám do ní padá — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Danish: den, der graver en grav for andre, falder selv i den — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Danish: den, der graver en grav for andre, falder tit selv i den — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Finnish: joka toiselle kuoppaa kaivaa, hän itse siihen lankeaa — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • German: wer andern eine Grube gräbt, fällt selbst hinein — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Greek: όποιος σκάβει το λάκκο του αλλουνού, πέφτει ο ίδιος μέσα (ópoios skávei to lákko tou allounoú, péftei o ídios mésa) — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Hungarian: aki másnak vermet ás, maga esik bele — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Italian: chi scava la fossa agli altri, vi cade dentro egli stesso — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Latin: incidit in foveam qui primus fecerat illam — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Malayalam: താൻ കുഴിച്ച കുഴിയിൽ താൻ തന്നെ വീഴും (tāṉ kuḻicca kuḻiyil tāṉ tanne vīḻuṁ) — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Polish: kto pod kim dołki kopie, sam w nie wpada — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Serbo-Croatian: ko drugome jamu kopa, sam u nju upada — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Serbo-Croatian: ко другоме јаму копа, сам у њу упада — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Swedish: den som gräver en grop åt andra, faller ofta själv däri — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself
  • Swedish: den som gräver en grop åt andra faller ofta själv däri — he who digs a pit for others, falls in himself