Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Caras vemos, corazones no sabemos.»
Word for word
Faces we see, hearts we do not know.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: You can't judge a book by its cover.
Used to warn that appearances can be deceiving and you never truly know someone's intentions or feelings. Common throughout the Spanish-speaking world as a cautionary remark.
Hear it in a sentence
Parecía muy amable, pero nos estafó; caras vemos, corazones no sabemos.
He seemed very kind, but he scammed us; you can't judge a book by its cover.
More Spanish sayings
- Las apariencias engañan. — Appearances can be deceiving.
- Los niños y los borrachos siempre dicen la verdad. — Children and drunkards always tell the truth.
- Quien mal anda, mal acaba. — Those who go astray come to a bad end.
- Tanto va el cántaro a la fuente, que al final se rompe. — The pitcher goes to the well so often that it breaks at last.
- A buen hambre no hay pan duro. — Hunger is the best sauce.
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.