Dicho español · Spanish proverb

«Hijo eres, padre serás, lo que hiciste pagarás.»

Word for word

Son you are, father you will be, what you did you will pay.

What it really means

The closest English equivalent: You reap what you sow with your children.

Said to warn young people that their behavior will return to them through their own children. Common parental advice.

Hear it in a sentence

Hijo eres, padre serás, lo que hiciste pagarás, así que trata bien a tus padres.

A son now, a father later, you'll pay for what you did, so treat your parents well.

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.

← All 60 Spanish dichos

Get a dicho a day — with news at YOUR level.

Real news rewritten to exactly your Spanish level (A1–C2), one dicho per edition, every morning. Free.

Get the free newsletter →