Spanish motivational quotes
Sometimes you need a little inspiration to achieve your best work. Other times you need some motivation to overcome a particularly challenging obstacle. No matter how great life is going, we all sometimes have bad days and need a little encouragement in order to keep our heads up. Here are our favorite motivational quotes in Spanish. Use them to encourage or cheer up your Spanish friends, or just for practicing your Spanish when you know you also need a pick-me-up.
Inspirational quotes in Spanish
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| A beber y a tragar, que el mundo se va a acabar. | Here's to drinking and swallowing, for the world is going to end. (Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die) |
| A veces sentimos que lo que hacemos es tan solo una gota en el mar, pero el mar sería mucho menos si le faltara una gota. | We sometimes feel that what we are just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. |
| Al final, no son los años en nuestra vida lo que cuenta, sino la vida en nuestros años. | At the end, it's not the years in our life that counts, but the life in our years. |
| Al mejor escribano se le va un borrón. | Even the best scribe will have a smudge come to him eventually (Even the best of us can make a mistake. ) |
| Algo es algo; menos es nada. | Something is something; less is nothing. (Something is better than nothing.) |
| Borra con el codo lo que escribe con la mano. | The elbow erases what the hand is writing (Two wrongs don't make a right) |
| Con el tiempo todo se consigue. | In time, everything is acquired (patience is a virtue) |
| Con el tiempo todo se consigue. | In time, everything is acquired. (Patience pays off!) |
| Cuanto mayor es la dificultad, mayor es la gloria. | The greater the challenge, the greater the glory. |
| De músico, poeta y loco, todos tenemos un poco. | We all have a little bit of musician, poet and crazy person within ourselves. (We're all a little bit crazy) |
| Deja de pensar en las limitaciones, empieza a pensar en las posibilidades | Cease thinking about the limitations, begin thinking about the possibilities. |
| Después de los años mil, torna el agua a su carril. | In a hundred years we will be dead anyway (so don't worry about what other people think!) |
| El amor es como el agua que no se seca. | Love is like water that never dries (True love lasts forever) |
| El amor todo lo puede | Love can do it all (Love will find a way) |
| El aprendizaje es experiencia, todo lo demás es información. | Learning is experience. Everything else is information. |
| El final de un camino es el inicio de uno nuevo. | The end of one path is the beginning of a new one. |
| El hábito no hace al monje. | The habit doesn't make the monk. (Clothes are not what defines the man.) |
| El miedo existe, lo importante es que tus deseos sean más fuertes que él. | Fear exists, but what is more important is that your desires are stronger. |
| El mundo está lleno de buenas personas. Si no las encuentras, sé una de ellas. | The world is full of good people; but, if you're unable to find one, you must become one. |
| El pesimista se queja del viento, el optimista espera que cambie, el realista ajusta las velas . | The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. |
| El que busca un amigo sin defectos se queda sin amigos. | Those who seek a friend without defects will be without friends altogether. |
| El riesgo de una mala decisión es preferible al terror de la indecisión | The risk of a wrong decision is better than the terror of indecision. |
| Fracasar no es caer, fracasar es negarse a levantarse y seguir. | Failure is not falling, failure is not getting up again. |
| Hagas lo que hagas, hazlo con pasión. | Whatever you do, do it with passion. |
| La acción es la clave fundamental para todo éxito. | Action is the foundational key to all success. |
| La duda es uno de los nombres de la inteligencia. | Doubt is one of intelligence’s names |
| La lengua no tiene hueso, pero corta lo más grueso. | The tongue doesn't have a bone, but it cuts the thickest thing ("The pen is mightier than the sword.") |
| La muerte no existe, la gente sólo muere cuando la olvidan. | People die only when we forget them. |
| La ocasión hay que crearla, no esperar a que llegue | A man has to create his own opportunities, not wait for them. |
| La raíz de los problemas es irse por las ramas. | The root of a problem is trying to avoid it. |
| La vida no se mide en minutos. Se mide en momentos. | Life isn’t measured in minutes, it is measured in moments. |
| Lo difícil no es llegar a la cima, sino jamás dejar de subir. | It's not difficult to reach the summit, it's difficult to never stop climbing. |
| Lo que no me mata, me alimenta. | What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. |
| No dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoy. | Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today. (Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today.) |
| No encuentres la falta, encuentra el remedio. | Don’t find the fault, look for a remedy. |
| No existe gran talento sin gran voluntad. | There is no great talent without great will |
| No existe gran talento sin gran voluntad. | There is no great talent without great will. |
| No hay que ahogarse en un vaso de agua. | It isn't necessary to drown yourself in a glass of water. (Don't make a big deal out of nothing at all) |
| No necesitas alas para volar, solo imaginación. | Wings are not needed to fly, only imagination. |
| No odies a quien te odia, quiere a quien te quiere. | Don’t hate those who hate you, rather love those who love you. |
| No puedes cambiar el viento, pero sí, ajustar las velas para llegar a tu destino. | You will never change the wind, but you can adjust the sails in order to get to your destination. |
| Nunca es tarde para aprender. | It is never too late to learn. (It is never too late to learn.) |
| Nunca serás capaz de cruzar el océano hasta que pierdas de vista la costa. | You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to let the shore out of your sight. |
| Nunca serás capaz de cruzar el océano hasta que pierdas de vista la costa. | You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. |
| Obras son amores y no buenas razones. | Acts are love but good reasons are not. (Actions speak louder than words) |
| Por muy larga que sea la tormenta, el siempre vuelve a brillar entre las nubes. | No matter how long the storm, the sun will always shine between the clouds once again. |
| Quien bien ama, tarde se olvida. | He who loves well, forgets the afternoon. |
| Si quieres hacer algo, hazlo ahora. Los mañana estan contados. | If you want to do something, do it now. The "tomorrows" are numbered. |
| Sin prisas, pero sin pausas. | Without hurry, but without stopping (“slow and steady wins the race.”) |
| Somos lo que pensamos. | We are what we think. |
| Sueña en grande y atrévete a fallar | Dream big and dare to fail. |
| Un deseo no cambia nada, una decisión lo cambia todo. | A desire changes nothing, whereas a decision changes everything. |
| Un viaje de diez mil kilómetros empieza con un sólo paso | A journey of ten thousand kilometers must begin with a single step. |
| Una gota en el mar no es nada, ¿Pero y si todas las gotas se ponen de acuerdo? | A drop in the ocean amounts to nothing. But what if all the drops are in agreement? |
| Vivir consiste en construir futuros recuerdos. | Living consists of building future memories. |
There aren’t always expert motivational speakers handy, so hopefully, this list can help inspire you. Many of these Spanish motivational quotes can keep you going after a long day. If you have a big final project or term paper coming due for your Spanish class, you may find it beneficial to print some of these out and attach them to your computer screen or laptop while you work. Some people find it helpful to bookmark this page for rough days. It may help to read them again or even read them aloud to yourself when you need it.
Inspirational Spanish quotes
One important thing to remember about proverbs is that they can be very difficult to translate word for word, as they are often chock full of colloquialisms that don’t carry over. So don’t always take them literally! They should be viewed as guiding principles.
Other creative ideas for these Spanish motivational quotes: use them on a card for a friend or study abroad roommate, or save them as your computer or phone screensaver. Are there other Spanish quotes that motivate you? Help us inspire others, and let us know your recommendations.
You may also want to read our favorite Spanish quotes about love, Spanish quotes about travel, or Spanish quotes about family.
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