Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Quien mal anda, mal acaba.»
Word for word
Whoever walks badly, ends badly.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: Those who go astray come to a bad end.
A moral warning that bad behavior leads to a bad end. Common throughout the Spanish-speaking world, often said as a caution or after someone's downfall.
Hear it in a sentence
Siempre engañó a todos y ahora está solo; quien mal anda, mal acaba.
He always deceived everyone and now he's alone; he who walks badly ends badly.
More Spanish sayings
- El que siembra vientos, recoge tempestades. — Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.
- Gato escaldado del agua fría huye. — Once bitten, twice shy.
- El que a hierro mata, a hierro muere. — Live by the sword, die by the sword.
- Todo llega para quien sabe esperar. — Good things come to those who wait.
- Caras vemos, corazones no sabemos. — You can't judge a book by its cover.
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.