Calque of Latin plus valet in manibus avis unica quam dupla silvis ( “ a bird in the hands is worth more than two in the forest ” ) , possibly deriving from sources as old as the ancient Middle East , with the 6th century BCE Proverbs of Ahiqar [ 1]
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
A sure thing is preferable to the mere chance at something more . [15th c.]
15th c. , John Capgrave, Life of St Katherine , Bodleian MS Rawlinson poet. 118, Bk. II :
It is more sykyr a bryd in youre fyste thre in the sky above profitabyl to youre behove.1737 , Henry Fielding, Pasquin, Act II, Scene I, p. 27:
May . No, but the Sides are going to be changed ; and Sir Harry is to be ſome very great Man ; and as ſoon as he is, I am to be made an Embaſſador of. Mrs. May . Made an Aſs of! Will you never learn of me, that a Bird in the Hand is worth two in the Buſh ?1864 Roba Di Roma , volume II, page 8:[An] acquaintance ... proposed to pay a ... proportion of the cost of the cellar provided he should have as his own everything of value that might be found [excavating]. A bird in the hand , thought Bardolph, is worth two in the bush , so he ... accepted the proposal.
small but certain advantage is preferable
Albanian: flaka të djeg, prushi të ngroh
Arabic: عُصْفُورٌ فِي ٱلْيَدِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ عُصْفُورِينَ عَلَى ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ( ʕuṣfūrun fī l-yadi ʔafḍalu min ʕuṣfūrīna ʕalā š-šajarati )
Armenian: փորձված թանը անփորձ մածունի հետ չեն փոխի ( pʻorjvac tʻanə anpʻorj macuni het čʻen pʻoxi )
Belarusian: лепш верабей у руцэ, чым жораў пад небам ( ljepš vjerabjej u ruce, čym žóraŭ pad njebam )
Bulgarian: по́-добре́ врабче́ в ръка́та, отко́лкото за́ек в гора́та ( pó-dobré vrabčé v rǎkáta, otkólkoto záek v goráta , literally “ better a sparrow in the hand than a rabbit in the forest ” )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 一鳥在手勝於十鳥在林 ／ 一鸟在手胜于十鸟在林 (zh) ( yī niǎo zài shǒu shèngyú shí niǎo zài lín )
Czech: lepší vrabec v hrsti, nežli holub na střeše ( literally “ better a sparrow in the hand than a pigeon on the roof ” )
Danish: en fugl i hånden er bedre end ti på taget
Dutch: beter een vogel in de hand dan tien in de lucht
Esperanto: pli bona ol dek branĉoj sur centono
Estonian: parem varblane peos kui tuvi katusel ( literally “ better a sparrow in the hand than a pigeon on the roof ” )
Finnish: parempi pyy pivossa kuin kymmenen oksalla ( literally “ better a hazel grouse in the hand than ten on the branch ” )
French: un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l’auras (fr) ( a here-you-go is worth more than two you-can-have-it-laters ) , moineau à la main vaut mieux que grue qui vole ( a sparrow in hand is worth more than a flying crane )
Friulian: l'è miôr un ûf vuê che une gjaline doman
Galician: vale máis paxaro na man que cento voando
Georgian: დღევანდელი კვერცხი ჯობია ხვალინდელ ქათამს ( dɣevandeli ḳvercxi ǯobia xvalindel katams , literally “ today's egg is better than tomorrow's children ” )
German: Besser ein Spatz in der Hand als eine Taube auf dem Dach ( literally “ rather a sparrow in the hand than a pigeon on the roof ” )
Greek: κάλλιο πέντε και στο χέρι παρά δέκα και καρτέρει (el) ( kállio pénte kai sto chéri pará déka kai kartérei ) ( rather hold five in hand than wait for ten to come )
Hebrew: טוב ציפור אחת ביד משתיים על העץ (he) ( tov tzippór aḥát bayád mishtáim 'al ha'étz )
Hindi: नौ नक़द न तेरह उधार ( nau naqad na terah udhār )
Hungarian: jobb ma egy veréb, mint holnap egy túzok (hu) ( literally “ better a sparrow today than a bustard tomorrow ” )
Icelandic: betri er einn fugl í hendi en tveir í skógi
Irish: is fearr breac sa láimh ná bradán sa linn ( literally “ a trout in the hands is better than a salmon in the sea ” ) , is fearr áirithe na srathrach ná iasacht na diallaite ( literally “ the certainty of the straddle is better than the loan of the saddle ” )
Italian: meglio un uovo oggi che una gallina domani ( literally “ better an egg today than a hen tomorrow ” )
Japanese: 明日の百より今日の五十 ( asu-no hyaku-yori kyō-no gojū ) ( today's 50 rather than tomorrow's 100 )
Khmer: ចាបមួយនៅដៃប្រសើរក្រៃ ជាងចាបដប់នៅលើឈើ ( chaap muəy nɨv day prɑsaə kray, jieng chaap dɑp nɨv ləə cʰəə )
Korean: 손안에 있는 새가 숲속에 있는 두 마리보다 낫다. ( sonane inneun saega supsoge inneun du mariboda natda. )
Latvian: labāk zīle, kas man ir rokā, nekā mednis, kas vēl sēd kokā labāk zīle rokā, nekā mednis kokā ( rather the titmouse that is in my hand than a wood grouse that is still sitting in the tree/ rather a titmouse in hand than a wood grouse in a tree )
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Lombard: l'è mej un üsèll in man che cent che vola
Luxembourgish: Léiwer e Spatz an der Hand wei eng Dauf um Daach ( literally “ rather a sparrow in the hand than a pigeon on the roof ” )
Macedonian: поарно врапче на рака отколку гулаб на гранка ( poarno vrapče na raka otkolku gulab na granka ) , подобро врапче на рака отколку гулаб на гранка ( podobro vrapče na raka otkolku gulab na granka )
Malay:
Jawi: يڠ کجر تق داڤت, يڠ دکيندوڠ برچيچيرن هارڤکن ݢوروه د لاڠيت, اءير د تمڤاين دچورهکن
Rumi: yang kejar tak dapat, yang dikendong berciciran harapkan guruh di langit, air di tempayan dicurahkan
Maltese: aħjar għasfur f’idejk minn mija fl-ajru
Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian:
Bokmål: én fugl i hånden er bedre enn ti på taket (no)
Nynorsk: ein fugl i handa er betre enn ti på taket
Polish: lepszy wróbel w garści niż gołąb na dachu (pl) , lepszy wróbel w ręku niż cietrzew na sęku (pl) , lepszy wróbel w ręku niż sokół na sęku (pl)
Portuguese: mais vale um pássaro na mão do que dois voando (pt)
Romanian: nu da vrabia din mână pe cioara de pe gard ( literally “ do not exchange the sparrow in the hand with the crow on the fence ” )
Russian: не сули́ журавля́ в не́бе, дай сини́цу в ру́ки (ru) ( ne sulí žuravljá v nébe, daj sinícu v rúki ) ( do not promise a crane in the sky, rather give a titmouse into my hands ) , лучше синица в руках, чем журавль в небе (ru) ( lučše sinica v rukax, čem žuravlʹ v nebe )
Scottish Gaelic: 's fhearr eun san làimh na deich air iteig 's fhearr iasg beag na bhith gun iasg idir
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: боље врабац у руци него голуб на грани ( bolje vrabac u ruci nego golub na grani )
Roman: bolje vrabac u ruci nego golub na grani
Slovak: lepší vrabec v hrsti ako holub na streche
Spanish: más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando ( a bird in one hand is worth more than a hundred in flight )
Swedish: bättre en fågel i handen än tio i skogen (sv)
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: bir eldeki kuş çalıdakinin iki misli değerdir
Ukrainian: краще синиця в жмені, ніж журавель в небі ( krašče synycja v žmeni, niž žuravelʹ v nebi )
Vietnamese: một con chim trong tay có giá trị hơn hai con trong bụi cây
Walloon: våt mî èn oujhea el mwin ki deus sol håye (wa)
Welsh: gwell bach mewn llaw na mawr gerllaw (cy)