Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Más vale maña que fuerza.»
Word for word
More is worth skill than strength.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: Skill beats brute strength.
Said when intelligence or cleverness solves a problem that raw force cannot. It highlights the value of wisdom and technique over sheer power.
Hear it in a sentence
No necesitas ser el más fuerte; más vale maña que fuerza.
You don't need to be the strongest; skill beats brute strength.
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.