Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Amistad que empieza con interés, pronto termina.»
Word for word
Friendship that begins with interest, soon ends.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: Friendship based on self-interest ends quickly.
Said when someone suspects a person is being friendly only for personal gain. It warns against opportunistic relationships.
Hear it in a sentence
Amistad que empieza con interés, pronto termina, y eso fue lo que le pasó a Luis.
A friendship that begins with self-interest soon ends, and that's what happened to Luis.
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 exact level.