in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

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Calque of Latin in regione caecorum rex est luscus, popularized by Desiderius Erasmus’ Adagia (1500). For further origin compare Aramaic בשוק סמייא צווחין לעווירא סגי נהור (literally “in the street of the blind, the one-eyed man is called the guiding light”), found in the Genesis Rabbah (4th or 5th century CE). This may be Erasmus’ direct source, but at least some traditional link between both forms seems likely.

48 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Arabic: الأعور في أرض العميان ملك (al-ʔaʕwaru fī ʔarḍi l-ʕumyāni malikun) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Armenian: կույրերի երկրում միաչքանին արքա է (kuyreri erkrum miačʻkʻanin arkʻa ē) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Bengali: অন্ধের রাজ্যে কানা লোকই রাজা (ondher rajje kana lōkoi raja) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Catalan: al pais del cecs, el tort és el rei — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Chinese Mandarin: 蜀中無大將,廖化作先鋒 /蜀中无大将 — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Chinese Mandarin: 廖化作先锋 (Shǔ zhōng wú dàjiàng, Liào Huà zuò xiānfēng) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Chinese Mandarin: 山中無老虎,猴子稱大王 /山中无老虎 — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Chinese Mandarin: 猴子称大王 — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Czech: mezi slepými je jednooký králem — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Czech: mezi slepými jednooký králem — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Danish: i de blindes land er den enøjede mand konge — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Dutch: in het land der blinden is eenoog koning — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Esperanto: inter blinduloj — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Esperanto: reĝas strabuloj — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Finnish: sokeiden maassa yksisilmäinen on kuningas — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• French: au royaume des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• German: unter den Blinden ist der Einäugige König — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Greek: στη χώρα των τυφλών, ο μονόφθαλμος είναι βασιλιάς (sti chóra ton tyflón, o monófthalmos eínai vasiliás) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Greek: στους τυφλούς, βασιλεύει ο μονόφθαλμος (stous tyfloús, vasilévei o monófthalmos) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Hebrew: בממלכת העיוורים שתום העין הוא מלך — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Hindi: अंधों में काना राजा (andhõ mẽ kānā rājā) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Hungarian: vakok között félszemű a király — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Indonesian: di negeri orang buta, seorang bermata satu adalah raja — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Indonesian: di tanah orang buta, seorang bermata satu adalah raja — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Italian: nella terra dei ciechi beato chi ha un occhio — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Japanese: 鳥なき島の蝙蝠 (torinaki shima no kōmori) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Korean: 무호동중이작호 (muhodongjung'ijakho) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Korean: 눈 먼 자들의 나라에서는 애꾸눈이 왕이다. (nun meon jadeurui nara'eseoneun aekkununi wang'ida.) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Latin: in regione caecorum rex est luscus — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Norwegian Bokmål: i de blindes land er den énøyde konge — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Polish: w kraju ślepców jednooki jest królem — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Portuguese: na terra dos cegos quem tem um olho é rei — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Portuguese: em terra de cegos quem tem um olho é rei — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Romanian: în țara orbilor și chiorul e împărat — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Serbo-Croatian: у земљи слепих, ћорави су краљеви — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Serbo-Croatian: u zemlji slepih, ćoravi su kraljevi — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Spanish: en el reino de los ciegos, el tuerto es el rey — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Swedish: i de blindas land är den enögde kung — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Tabasaran: курарин гьюкуматдиъ саб ул айир ву паччагь (kurarin hjukumatdiʾ sab ul ajir vu pač̄ah) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Tagalog: sa lupa ng mga bulag, ang naghahari ay pisak — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Tagalog: sa bayang walang marunong, ang naghahari ay ulol — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Tamil: புலி இல்லாத ஊரில் பூனை தான் இராஜா (puli illāta ūril pūṉai tāṉ irājā) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Telugu: గుడ్డిలో మెల్ల (guḍḍilō mella) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Telugu: గుడ్డి కన్నా మెల్ల మేలు (guḍḍi kannā mella mēlu) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Thai: ในดินแดนของคนตาบอด คนที่มีตาข้างเดียวคือราชา — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Turkish: körler ülkesinde tek gözü olan kral olur — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Urdu: اندھوں میں کانا راجا (andhõ mẽ kānā rājā) — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
• Vietnamese: thằng chột làm vua xứ mù — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king