Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Quien no trabaja, no come.»
Word for word
Who does not work, does not eat.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: He who doesn't work, doesn't eat.
Used to emphasize that effort is necessary to earn a living, often said to someone who is lazy or expects things for free.
Hear it in a sentence
Quien no trabaja, no come, así que ponte a buscar empleo ya.
He who doesn't work, doesn't eat, so start looking for a job now.
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.