a bad workman always blames his tools

English

Alternative forms

• a bad carpenter blames his tools
• a poor workman blames his tools

Proverb

a bad workman always blames his tools

1. It is not the tools we use that make us good, but rather how we employ them.
   • 1881, John Wurtle Lovell, “Jacula Prudentum”, in The Works of George Herbert in Prose and Verse‎^[1], New York, page 440:
     • Never had ill workman good tools.
   • 1881, John Wurtle Lovell, “Jacula Prudentum”, in The Works of George Herbert in Prose and Verse‎^[2], New York, page 454:
     • An ill labourer quarrels with his tools.
2. Upon failure, it is easier to blame the tools used rather than how they were employed.

Translations

not the tools but how they're employed

• Bengali: নাচতে না জানলে উঠান বাঁকা (bn) (nacote na janle uṭhan bãka)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 屙屎唔出賴地硬 / 屙屎唔出赖地硬 (yue) (o¹ si² m⁴ ceot¹ laai⁶ dei⁶ ngaang⁶), 賴地硬 / 赖地硬 (laai⁶ dei⁶ ngaang⁶)

  Hakka: 唔識字怨爺娘，唔會賺錢怨屋場 / 唔识字怨爷娘，唔会赚钱怨屋场 (m̀ sṳt-sṳ yen yà-ngiòng, m̀-voi chhon-chhièn yen vuk-chhòng)

  Hokkien: 𣍐曉駛船嫌溪彎 / 𫧃晓驶船嫌溪弯 (bōe-hiáu sái-chûn hiâm khoe oan), 𣍐曉駛船嫌溪狹 / 𫧃晓驶船嫌溪狭 (bōe-hiáu sái-chûn hiâm khoe oe̍h)

  Mandarin: 拉不出屎來賴茅坑 / 拉不出屎来赖茅坑 (lā bù chū shǐ lái lài máokēng), 尿不準怪馬桶歪 / 尿不准怪马桶歪

• Dutch: een kwaad werkman heeft altijd slecht getuig
• Finnish: kyllä sika syitä löytää, välillä on maa jäässä, välillä kärsä kipeä
• French: à méchant ouvrier, point de bon outil (fr), un mauvais ouvrier a toujours de mauvais outils (fr)
• German: wenn der Reiter nichts taugt, hat das Pferd Schuld (if the rider is no good, it's the horse's fault), ein schlechter Handwerker schimpft immer auf sein Werkzeug
• Hindi: नाच न जाने आँगन टेढ़ा (nāc na jāne āṅgan ṭeṛhā)
• Icelandic: árinni kennir illur ræðari (is) (a bad rower blames his oar)
• Indonesian: buruk muka cermin dibelah
• Irish: droch-cheardaí a chuireann an milleán ar a chuid uirlisí, ní thig a sháith de chorrán a thabhairt do dhrochbhuanaí (literally “it is not possible to give a sickle a sickle”)
• Japanese: 弘法筆を選ばず (ja) (kōbō fude o erabazu)
• Korean: 나쁜 일꾼은 제 공구를 탓한다 (nappeun ilkkuneun je gonggureul tathanda)
• Malay:

  Jawi: تق تاهو مناري دکاتاکن لنتاي جوڠکڠ-جوڠکيت, تق تاهو مناري دکاتاکن تانه تيڠݢي رنده, تق تاهو مڠاڽم ڤندن دسالهکن

  Rumi: tak tahu menari dikatakan lantai jongkang-jongket, tak tahu menari dikatakan tanah tinggi rendah, tak tahu menganyam pandan disalahkan

• Marathi: नाचता येइना अंगण वाकडे (nāctā yeinā aṅgaṇ vākḍe)
• Persian:

  Dari: پهلوان که باخت میگه نیرو من تنگ بود

• Polish: złej baletnicy przeszkadza rąbek spódnicy (pl)
• Russian: плохо́му танцо́ру и я́йца меша́ют (ru) (ploxómu tancóru i jájca mešájut) (bad dancer is impeded even by (his own) balls), не́ча на зе́ркало пеня́ть, ко́ли ро́жа крива́ (néča na zérkalo penjátʹ, kóli róža krivá) (don't blame the mirror if your mug is skewed), ма́стер глуп — нож туп (máster glup — nož tup) (if the worker is stupid, his knife is blunt)
• Scottish Gaelic: cha d'fhuair droch-bhuannaiche a-riamh deagh-chorran, cha d'fhuair droch-ràmhaich ràmh math a-riamh
• Thai: รำไม่ดีโทษปี่โทษกลอง (th) (ram-mâi-dii-tôot-bpìi-tôot-glɔɔng)
• Urdu: ناچ نہ جانے آنگن ٹیڑھا (ur) (nāc na jāne ā̃gan ṭeṛhā)