the fish rots from the head

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Attested in Adages of Erasmus (16 c., Latin): Piscis primum a capite foetet (“The fish stinks first from the head”).

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Chinese Mandarin: 上樑不正下樑歪 /上梁不正下梁歪 (shàngliáng bùzhèng xiàliáng wāi) — proverb
• Czech: ryba smrdí od hlavy — proverb
• Danish: en fisk rådner fra hovedet — proverb
• Dutch: vis begint aan de kop te stinken — proverb
• Esperanto: putrado de fiŝo komenciĝas de l' kapo — proverb
• Finnish: päästään kala ensiksi haisee — proverb
• French: le poisson pourrit par la tête — proverb
• German: der Fisch stinkt vom Kopf her — proverb
• Greek: απ’ το κεφάλι βρωμάει το ψάρι (ap’ to kefáli vromáei to psári) — proverb
• Hebrew: הַדָּג מַסְרִיחַ מֵהָרֹאשׁ (hadág masríakh meharósh) — proverb
• Hungarian: fejétől bűzlik a hal — proverb
• Italian: il pesce puzza dalla testa — proverb
• Japanese: 魚は頭から腐る — proverb
• Korean: 윗물이 맑아야 아랫물이 맑다 (winmur-i malga-ya araenmur-i makda) — proverb
• Latin: piscis primum a capite foetet — proverb
• Lithuanian: žuvis pūva nuo galvos — proverb
• Maltese: il-ħuta minn rasha tinten — proverb
• Polish: ryba psuje się od głowy — proverb
• Romanian: peștele de la cap se împute — proverb
• Russian: рыба гниёт с головы (ryba gnijót s golovy) — proverb
• Slovak: ryba smrdí od hlavy — proverb
• Turkish: balık baştan kokar — proverb
• Ukrainian: риба гниє з голови (ryba hnyje z holovy) — proverb