Phrase guide

it takes all kinds to make a world

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

Diversity is essential: the world would be incomplete if everyone were alike; an expression of surprise at a person or people's eccentricity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • He irons his clothes how?! That's crazy! Well, I guess it takes all kinds to make a world.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Calque of Spanish de todos ha de haber en el mundo (“There must be of all [types] in the world”), Miguel de Cervantes, El ingenioso caballero Don Quijote de la Mancha, Capítulo VI, 1615 (Don Quixote, Volume 2, Chapter VI); translated 1620, Shelton, as "In the world there must surely be of all sorts." and appeared in various forms thereafter.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 构成世界需要各种各样的人 — Diversity is essential
  • Finnish: meitä on moneen junaan — Diversity is essential
  • French: il faut de tout pour faire un monde — Diversity is essential
  • Italian: il mondo è bello perché è vario — Diversity is essential
  • Polish: na świecie różnie bywa — Diversity is essential
  • Russian: мир, что огород: в нём всё растёт (mir, što ogorod: v njom vsjo rastjót) — Diversity is essential
  • Spanish: de todo hay en la viña del Señor — Diversity is essential