«Vivir para ver.»

Word for word

To live in order to see.

What it really means

The closest English equivalent: You live and learn.

Said when something surprising or unexpected happens, expressing that life keeps showing you new things. Often used with irony or resignation.

Hear it in a sentence

More Spanish sayings

• Cuando menos te lo esperas, salta la liebre. — Opportunity comes when you least expect it.
• El dinero llama al dinero. — Money attracts money.
• El que nace para maceta, del corredor no pasa. — You can't escape your destiny.
• Nunca es tarde si la dicha es buena. — Better late than never when the outcome is good.
• No hay dos sin tres. — Things come in threes.

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.

← All 60 Spanish dichos