Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«El tiempo es un ladrón que roba sin que te des cuenta.»
Word for word
Time is a thief that steals without you realizing it.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: Time steals away before you know it.
Used when reflecting on how quickly time passes, often when noticing children have grown or years have gone by.
Hear it in a sentence
El tiempo es un ladrón que roba sin que te des cuenta; ayer eras un niño y hoy ya tienes hijos.
Time is a thief that steals without you realizing it; yesterday you were a child and today you have children.
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.