Phrase guide

no pain, no gain

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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  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

proverb

Meaning 1

One must be willing to endure some inconvenience or discomfort (e.g., hard work, risk, or both) in order to achieve worthwhile goals.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: nothing ventured, nothing gained; no guts, no glory

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nothing ventured, nothing gained, no guts, no glory

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Came into prominence around 1982 through the American actress Jane Fonda's aerobic workout videos.

Across languages

Translations

81 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مَنْ جَدَّ وَجَدَ وَمَنْ زَرَعَ حَصَدَ (man jadda wajada waman zaraʕa ḥaṣada) — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Azerbaijani: işləməyən dişləməz — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Burmese: အနာခံမှ အသာစံရ (a.nahkamhma. a.sacam-ra.) — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Czech: bez práce nejsou koláče — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Danish: hvo intet vover, intet vinder — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Danish: man skal yde før man kan nyde — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Dutch: voor iets hoort iets — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Dutch: wie niet waagt, die niet wint — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Dutch: niet geschoten is altijd mis — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Dutch: de kost gaat voor de baat uit — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Esperanto: kiu ne riskas, tiu ne gajnas — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Estonian: kes kannatab, see kaua elab — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Finnish: vaikeuksien kautta voittoon — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Finnish: yrittänyttä ei laiteta — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • French: qui ne risque rien n'a rien — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • French: qui ne tente rien n'a rien — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • French: on n'a rien sans rien — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Galician: non se collen troitas coas bragas enxoitas — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • German: ohne Schweiß kein Preis — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • German: ohne Fleiß kein Preis — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • German: von nichts kommt nichts — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • German: wer nicht wagt, der nicht gewinnt — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • German: Schmerz vergeht, die Ehre bleibt — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • German: Schmerz vergeht, der Stolz bleibt — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • German: Qualität kommt von Qual — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Hebrew: הזורעים בדמעה, ברינה יקצורו — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Hungarian: mindenért meg kell szenvedni — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Hungarian: aki nem dolgozik, ne is egyék — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Hungarian: aki mer, az nyer — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Icelandic: enginn verður óbarinn biskup — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Indonesian: berakit-rakit ke hulu, berenang-renang ke tepian — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Italian: per apparire bisogna soffrire — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Italian: chi non risica non rosica — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Italian: non c'è rosa senza spine — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Kikuyu: gũota mwaki nĩ kũhuria — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Korean: 고진감래 (gojin'gamnae) — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Latin: quī arat olīvētum, rogat fructum — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Latin: quī stercorat, exōrat — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Latin: quī caedit, cōgit — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Latin: sine labōre nōn erit pānis in ōre — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Latin: sine labōre nōn est pānis in ōre — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Malay: kalau tidak dipecahkan ruyung, manakan dapat sagunya — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Norman: tchi s'tcheint à la preunmié broque né tchèrra janmais d'bein haut — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Norwegian: den som intet våger, intet vinner — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Persian: نابرده رنج گنج میسر نمی شود — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Polish: bez pracy nie ma kołaczy — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Polish: bez zachodu nie ma miodu — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Polish: bez pracy nie ma macy — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Polish: pieczone gołąbki nie lecą same do gąbki — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Polish: kto ma ręce do pracy, ten się naje kołaczy — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Polish: żeby mieć kołaczy, trzeba użyć pracy — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Portuguese: sem esforço não dá — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Portuguese: ter que ralar pra conseguir — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Portuguese: sem dor, sem ganho — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Portuguese: quem não arrisca não petisca — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Scottish Gaelic: am fear nach dèan cur rè latha fuar, cha dèan e buain rè latha teth — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Scottish Gaelic: bonnach air bois, cha bhruich e is cha loisg — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Serbo-Croatian: без муке нема науке — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Serbo-Croatian: bez muke nema nauke — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Slovak: bez práce nie sú koláče — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Slovak: kto nič nerobí, nič nepokazí — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Slovene: brez muje se še čevelj ne obuje — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Spanish: sin dolor no hay ganancia — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Spanish: el que no arriesga no gana — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Spanish: no hay atajo sin trabajo — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Spanish: perro que no camina, no encuentra hueso — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Spanish: quien algo quiere, algo le cuesta — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Spanish: quien no se arriesga no pasa la mar — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Spanish: el que quiera peces, que se moje el culo — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Spanish: para presumir, hay que sufrir — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Swedish: man måste satsa för att vinna — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Swedish: vill man vara fin, får man lida pin — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Swedish: stekta sparvar flyger ej i munnen — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Swedish: friskt vågat, hälften vunnet — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Turkish: emeksiz yemek olmaz — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Turkish: korkak bezirgân ne kâr eder ne ziyan — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Turkish: emek olmadan yemek olmaz — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Ukrainian: під лежачий камінь вода не тече (pid ležačyj kaminʹ voda ne teče) — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Vietnamese: không vào hang cọp sao bắt được cọp con — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Vietnamese: tay làm hàm nhai — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals
  • Vilamovian: wor ny at, gejt under dy ad — discomfort is necessary to achieve goals