Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Quien no te conozca, que te compre.»
Word for word
Whoever does not know you, let them buy you.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: I know you too well to be fooled.
Used when someone who knows you well doubts your value or honesty, implying that only strangers would be fooled into trusting you. Common in Spain as a wry, slightly cynical remark.
Hear it in a sentence
Tú a mí no me engañas, pero quien no te conozca, que te compre.
You can't fool me, but whoever doesn't know you can buy from you.
More Spanish sayings
- Mal de muchos, consuelo de tontos. — Others' misery is a fool's comfort.
- Los niños y los borrachos siempre dicen la verdad. — Children and drunkards always tell the truth.
- Cobra buena fama y échate a dormir. — Build a good name and it will work for you.
- Caras vemos, corazones no sabemos. — You can't judge a book by its cover.
- Tanto va el cántaro a la fuente, que al final se rompe. — The pitcher goes to the well so often that it breaks at last.
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.