Dicho español · Spanish proverb

«Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo.»

Word for word

The devil knows more from being old than from being the devil.

What it really means

The closest English equivalent: With age comes wisdom.

Experience beats raw talent or cleverness — used to defend an older person’s advice.

Hear it in a sentence

Haz caso del consejo de tu abuela: más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo.

Listen to your grandmother’s advice — with age comes wisdom.

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.

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