you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs

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1796 in English, from French, on ne saurait faire d'omelette sans casser des œufs (1742 and earlier), attributed to François de Charette.

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Chinese Mandarin: 天下沒有白吃的午餐 /天下没有白吃的午餐 (tiānxià méiyǒu báichī de wǔcān) — phrase
• Chinese Mandarin: 有得必有失; 有失才有得 — phrase
• Czech: když se kácí les, létají třísky — phrase
• Danish: hvor der handles, der spildes — phrase
• Dutch: waar gehakt wordt vallen spaanders — phrase
• Finnish: munakasta ei voi tehdä rikkomatta munia — phrase
• French: on ne fait pas d'omelette sans casser des œufs — phrase
• French: on ne saurait faire d'omelette sans casser des œufs — phrase
• German: wo gehobelt wird, fallen Späne — phrase
• Greek: αν δεν βρέξεις κώλο, ψάρι δεν τρως (an den vréxeis kólo, psári den tros) — phrase
• Hungarian: csak az nem hibázik, aki nem dolgozik — phrase
• Hungarian: ahol fát vágnak, ott hullik a forgács — phrase
• Hungarian: áldozat nélkül nincs győzelem — phrase
• Italian: non si può fare una frittata senza rompere le uova — phrase
• Japanese: 蒔かぬ種は生えぬ (makanu tane wa haenu) — phrase
• Norwegian: det må knuses noen egg for å lage en omelett — phrase
• Persian: املای نانوشته غلط ندارد (emlâ-ye nâ-nevešte ġalat nadârad) — phrase
• Polish: gdzie drwa rąbią, tam wióry lecą — phrase
• Portuguese: não se pode fazer omelete sem quebrar os ovos — phrase
• Slovak: keď sa rúbe les, lietajú triesky — phrase
• Spanish: nada que valga la pena se logra sin crear conflictos — phrase
• Spanish: no se puede hacer una tortilla sin romper los huevos — phrase
• Spanish: quien quiera peces, que moje el culo — phrase