Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Quien fue a Sevilla, perdió su silla.»
Word for word
Who went to Seville, lost their chair.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: You snooze, you lose.
Said when someone leaves their place or position and returns to find it taken by someone else. Very common in Spain and Latin America, often used playfully among friends or siblings.
Also said as
- El que se fue a Sevilla perdió su silla.
Hear it in a sentence
Te levantaste de la mesa y tu hermano se sentó ahí; quien fue a Sevilla, perdió su silla.
You got up from the table and your brother sat there; you snooze, you lose.
More Spanish sayings
- Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente. — You snooze, you lose.
- El amor de lejos, amor de pendejos. — Long-distance love rarely works.
- Haz el bien y no mires a quién. — Do good without expecting anything in return.
- Hoy por ti, mañana por mí. — Today you, tomorrow me: we help each other.
- De perdidos, al río. — In for a penny, in for a pound.
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.