Jugend hat keine Tugend

German

Etymology

Literally, “youth has no virtue”. Compare Dutch jeugd heeft geen deugd.

Pronunciation

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Proverb

Jugend hat keine Tugend

1. young people are less likely to follow a moral and virtuous lifestyle (e.g. because they find it hard to control their desires)
   • before 1885, Theodor Fontane, Private letter to Bernhard von Lepel, quoted in Fontane zum Vergnügen, Reclam, published 2011, page 103:

     »Jugend hat keine Tugend« ist falsch, wie fast alle Sprichwörter; wenn wer noch Tugend hat, so ist’s eben die Jugend.

     “Youth has no virtue” is wrong, like almost all proverbs; if anyone still has virtue, it’s the young.