Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Árbol que crece torcido, jamás su tronco endereza.»
Word for word
A tree that grows crooked never straightens its trunk.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.
Used to say that bad habits or character flaws formed in youth are nearly impossible to correct later in life. Common in family and educational contexts across the Spanish-speaking world.
Hear it in a sentence
Su hijo siempre ha sido mentiroso y ya no cambia; árbol que crece torcido, jamás su tronco endereza.
Her son has always been a liar and he won't change now; a tree that grows crooked never straightens its trunk.
More Spanish sayings
- El que a buen árbol se arrima, buena sombra le cobija. — He who leans on a good tree gets good shade.
- El que paga, manda. — He who pays the piper calls the tune.
- Dime de qué presumes y te diré de qué careces. — Tell me what you boast about and I'll tell you what you lack.
- El amor es ciego. — Love is blind.
- Dios los cría y ellos se juntan. — Birds of a feather flock together.
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.