Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Al mal tiempo, buena cara.»
Word for word
To bad weather, a good face.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: Put on a brave face in hard times.
A call to stay cheerful and composed when things go wrong — the Spanish “keep calm and carry on.”
Hear it in a sentence
Nos cancelaron el vuelo, pero al mal tiempo, buena cara: pasamos la noche jugando a las cartas.
Our flight was cancelled, but we put on a brave face and spent the night playing cards.
More Spanish sayings
- Después de la tormenta, viene la calma. — After the storm comes the calm.
- A grandes males, grandes remedios. — Desperate times call for desperate measures.
- Quien tiene boca se equivoca. — To err is human.
- Todo a su tiempo. — Everything in its own time.
- Siempre que llueve, escampa. — This too shall pass.
Why learn dichos?
Proverbs like this one are everywhere in spoken Spanish — dropped mid-conversation, usually just the first half, with the rest left for you to complete. Recognizing them is one of the fastest ways to sound less like a textbook and follow real speech. Every Lingocito edition signs off with the dicho del día, so you meet one a day next to news written at your level.