Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Borrón y cuenta nueva.»
Word for word
Blot and new account.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: Let bygones be bygones.
Used to propose starting fresh after a conflict or mistake, wiping the slate clean. Very common in Spain and Latin America in both personal and professional contexts.
Hear it in a sentence
Después de nuestra discusión, borrón y cuenta nueva: sigamos como amigos.
After our argument, let bygones be bygones: let's continue as friends.
More Spanish sayings
- Mañana será otro día. — Tomorrow is another day.
- A lo hecho, pecho. — What's done is done.
- En casa de herrero, cuchillo de palo. — The shoemaker’s children go barefoot.
- Muerto el perro, se acabó la rabia. — Once the source is gone, the problem ends.
- Para muestra, un botón. — A single example is enough to prove the point.
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.