Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«El que espera, desespera, pero el que aguanta, gana.»
Word for word
He who waits despairs, but he who endures wins.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: Waiting is frustrating, but the one who endures wins.
Used to acknowledge how hard waiting can be while encouraging someone to stay strong because persistence pays off.
Hear it in a sentence
Sé que es difícil, pero el que espera, desespera, pero el que aguanta, gana.
I know it's hard, but waiting is frustrating, yet the one who endures wins.
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.