Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Del árbol caído todos hacen leña.»
Word for word
From the fallen tree, everyone makes firewood.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: Everyone kicks a man when he's down.
Describes how people take advantage of or pile on someone who is already defeated or vulnerable. Used to criticize opportunistic behavior toward the weak or unfortunate.
Hear it in a sentence
Ahora que quebró la empresa, todos le dan la espalda; del árbol caído todos hacen leña.
Now that his company went bankrupt, everyone turns their back on him; everyone makes firewood from the fallen tree.
More Spanish sayings
- En el país de los ciegos, el tuerto es rey. — In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
- Ojo por ojo, diente por diente. — An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
- Quien con niños se acuesta, mojado amanece. — Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.
- Una de cal y otra de arena. — Give and take.
- Lo cortés no quita lo valiente. — Being polite doesn't make you any less brave.
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.