Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Es peor el remedio que la enfermedad.»
Word for word
The remedy is worse than the disease.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: The cure is worse than the disease.
Used when a supposed solution creates bigger problems than the original issue. Common in everyday conversation about politics, medicine, or bad advice.
Hear it in a sentence
Contrataron más burocracia para arreglar el papeleo, pero es peor el remedio que la enfermedad.
They hired more bureaucracy to fix the paperwork, but the cure is worse than the disease.
More Spanish sayings
- Pan para hoy, hambre para mañana. — A quick fix today, a bigger problem tomorrow.
- Hecha la ley, hecha la trampa. — Every law has a loophole.
- A grandes males, grandes remedios. — Desperate times call for desperate measures.
- Todo a su tiempo. — Everything in its own time.
- Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando. — A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
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.