Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«En martes, ni te cases ni te embarques.»
Word for word
On Tuesday, neither marry yourself nor embark.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: Tuesday is unlucky: Spain's Friday the 13th.
Said to warn against starting something important on a Tuesday, which is popularly considered unlucky in Spanish folklore. It's used jokingly or half-seriously when someone plans a wedding, trip, or big decision on that day.
Hear it in a sentence
No sé por qué eligieron martes para la boda; ya sabes que en martes, ni te cases ni te embarques.
I don't know why they chose Tuesday for the wedding; you know that on Tuesday, neither marry yourself nor embark.
More Spanish sayings
- Mañana será otro día. — Tomorrow is another day.
- Bicho malo nunca muere. — A bad penny always turns up.
- No vendas la piel del oso antes de cazarlo. — Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
- No se ganó Zamora en una hora. — Rome wasn't built in a day.
- La letra con sangre entra. — Learning requires effort and discipline.
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.