the bigger they are, the harder they fall

English

Alternative forms

• the bigger they come, the harder they fall

Proverb

the bigger they are, the harder they fall

1. The larger or the higher of a rank something is, the more disastrous and spectacular its downfall.

Translations

proverb

• Dutch: hoge bomen vangen veel wind
• Finnish: ryskyen kaatuvat suuret puut
• German: wer hoch steigt, fällt tief; wer hoch fliegt, fällt tief; wer viel hat, kann viel verlieren
• Khmer: ឈើ​ធំ​រលំឮ​ខ្លាំង (cʰəə tʰom rɔlum lɨɨ klaŋ)
• Portuguese: quanto maior a altura, maior a queda
• Russian: чем бо́льше шкаф, тем гро́мче он па́дает (čem bólʹše škaf, tem grómče on pádajet) (the bigger is a cupboard, the louder it falls)
• Slovene: kdor visoko leta, nizko pade
• Spanish: más dura será la caída
• Vietnamese: trèo cao ngã đau (vi), trèo cao té đau (vi)

See also

• how the mighty have fallen
• pride comes before a fall
• the highest branch is not the safest roost
• uneasy lies the head that wears a crown