# better safe than sorry



## essoufflee

*Moderator note: Several threads merged.*

Comment dire la phrase "better safe than sorry" en français? Merci!


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## sylber

There's a proverb: 'prudence est mère de sûreté'.


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## edwingill

deux précautions valent mieux qu'une


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## panzemeyer

Another possible translation : "on n'est jamais trop prudent".


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## essoufflee

Cela veut dire "two precautions are better than one", non?


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## GLange

> deux précautions valent mieux qu'une





> Cela veut dire "two precautions are better than one", non?


Precisely.
You can also say: "Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir".


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## sanjuro

"on n'est jamais trop prudent" seems the best to me, the other ones are too proverbial.


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## maddief24

sanjuro said:
			
		

> "on n'est jamais trop prudent" seems the best to me, the other ones are too proverbial.


 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "better safe than sorry" a proverb?


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## Cath.S.

maddief24 said:
			
		

> Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "better safe than sorry" a proverb?


Of course you're right; my own favorite is _mieux vaut prévenir que guérir_.


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## essoufflee

I like "mieux vaut prévenir que guérir" but in this case what I want to say is rather "better to be on the safe side and take precautions than *have regrets later*", rather than "cure". The context is the use of handphones. While there isn't concrete proof that it is harmful to one's health, it's better to take precautions than be sorry later when you develop cancers etc. So would "on n'est jamais trop prudent" be good here? Even though it's not very proverbial. Merci à tous!


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## panzemeyer

I think both "mieux vaut prévenir que guérir" and "on n'est jamais trop prudent" would fit here. 

"Guérir" shouldn't be understood literaly. It means you might suffer from a harm you'll have to deal with later on. Whether this harm can actually be cured or not doesn't really matter.


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## xinhui

How do you say this phrase in french?


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## carolineR

Bonne question !
nous n'avons pas d'expression aussi remarquablement économique et de plus allitérative.
Peut-être un dicton  : la peur est le commencement de la sagesse


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## xinhui

merci bcp!


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## edwingill

mieux vaut prévenir que guérir


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## Micmique

Bonsoir, 
"Better safe than sorry" does it mean mieux vaut prévenir que guérir?
Merci


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## Cath.S.

Tout à fait.


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## Micmique

Merci beaucoup!


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## verbivore

Just wondering,

Is it also: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?

Thx.


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## xtrasystole

Micmique said:


> "Better safe than sorry" does it mean mieux vaut prévenir que guérir?


Mmmh... I don't think so. 

I would say that its equivalent French saying is: _'Courageux mais pas téméraire'_.


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## cropje_jnr

Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir = prevention is better than cure, no?


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## xtrasystole

cropje_jnr said:


> Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir = prevention is better than cure, no?


Yes, of course.


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## david314

Micmique said:


> Bonsoir,
> "Better safe than sorry" does it mean *mieux vaut prévenir que guérir*?
> Merci


 


verbivore said:


> Is it also: *An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure*?


 The nuances of this post have been troubling me since last night, but I must maintain that the two sentences featured above are, indeed, synonymous. Does anyone have any serious objections? If I'm missing something, my apologies. Thank you & best wishes to all.


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## xtrasystole

I agree with you David. 

But to me, _'Better safe than sorry'_ is definitely not _'Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir'_.


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## carolineR

I agree with e-gueule and you, david 
In my opinion "Better safe than sorry" and "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" both mean "mieux vaut prévenir que guérir".
I disagree with xtrasystole's "courageux mais pas téméraire"


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## edwingill

xtrasystole said:


> I agree with you David.
> 
> But to me, _'Better safe than sorry'_ is definitely not _'Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir'_.


Would you say that "deux précautions valent mieux qu'une" might fit the bill?


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## Cath.S.

To Edwingill and Xtrasystole.

First of all, here is a definition and example from freedictionary.com

*Better (to be) safe than sorry.* 
something that you say which means it is best not to take risks even if it seems boring or hard work to be careful. _I'll hold the ladder while you climb up. Better safe than sorry._ 

Deux précautions valent mieux qu'une doesn't seem to fit very well here, but is not completely impossible after all. It's not what would come naturally in that situation, though, I'd use it in sentences like:
_J'ai acheté une échelle spéciale à pieds antidérapants, mais je vais quand même la tenir pendant que tu y montes. Deux précautions valent mieux qu'une._
Cette expression a un sens très littéral.

_Courageux mais pas téméraire_, that we use ironically about somebody's (excessive) caution doesn't make sense at all.

On the other hand,
_Je vais tenir l'échelle pendant que tu y montes : mieux vaut prévenir que guérir_
seems to me like a perfect translation of the above example.


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## xtrasystole

egueule said:


> _Courageux mais pas téméraire_, that we use ironically about somebody's (excessive) caution doesn't make sense at all.


I'm afraid that I disagree, dear egueule. To me, _'Courageux mais pas téméraire"_ perfectly fits your definition of _"Better (to be) safe than sorry"_: _"Something that you say which means it is best not to take risks even if it seems boring _[or whatever...]_"_

When you have to choose between two behaviors or attitudes, the one brave and decent but risky, and the other safe but somewhat cowardly, if you choose the latter you would say: _"Courageux mais pas téméraire / Better safe than sorry"_, as a way to give yourself an excuse not to act bravely. For instance, a guy seeing an old lady being assaulted in the subway and prefering to ignore her and stand there, would say to himself: _"Courageux mais pas téméraire / Better safe than sorry"_.

Kind regards


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## Cath.S.

Xtrasystole said:
			
		

> For instance, a guy seeing an old lady being assaulted in the subway and prefering to ignore her and stand there, would say to himself: _"Courageux mais pas téméraire / Better safe than sorry"_.


I don't think so and would like English natives to comment on this.
Courageux mais pas téméraire = lâche, so yes, in the situation you describe, one could use it - quite cynically imo.


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## edwingill

egueule said:


> I don't think so and would like English natives to comment on this.
> Courageux mais pas téméraire = lâche, so yes, in the situation you describe, one could use it - quite cynically imo.


" better safe than sorry"As I understand it, this idiom is used to recommend being cautious rather than taking a risk. We also have the idiom "prevention is better than cure".As I understand it, this idiom means to stop something before it occurs.


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## Cath.S.

edwingill said:


> " better safe than sorry"As I understand it, this idiom is used to recommend being cautious rather than taking a risk. We also have the idiom "prevention is better than cure".As I understand it, this idiom means to stop something before it occurs.


Thanks Edwingill, what I was asking for was natives' comments on this:


			
				Xtrasystole said:
			
		

> For instance, a guy seeing an old lady being assaulted in the subway and prefering to ignore her and stand there, would say to himself: _(...) Better safe than sorry"_.


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## david314

-egueule, I would not use our expression for _the little old lady_ example. In that case, the coward and the cynic might simply declare: *I don't want to get involved*.


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## edwingill

egueule said:


> Thanks Edwingill, what I was asking for was natives' comments on this:


This is a good example of "better safe than sorry", but I don't think xtrasystole captures it with " courageux mais pas téméraire", which means "brave but not foolhardy".


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## Cath.S.

edwingill said:


> This is a good example of "better safe than sorry", but I don't think xtrasystole captures it with " courageux mais pas téméraire", which means "brave but not foolhardy".


Brave but not foolhardy is not an idiom in English, while courageux mais pas téméraire is in French and in fact means "cowardly".

I still find the little old lady example very untypical.
Let me quote the dictionary definition again - with which you may naturally disagree -


> Better (to be) safe than sorry.
> something that you say which means it is best not to take risks even if it seems boring or hard work to be careful.


How does not helping a little old lady seem boring or hard work?
And another definition:
_Better safe than sorry. It makes sense (and is certainly safer) to take precautionary measures before anything bad happens. (Random House, New York, 1996)._
How can failing to help someone be seen as "taking precautionary measures"?


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## xtrasystole

edwingill said:


> This is a good example of "better safe than sorry", but I don't think xtrasystole captures it with " courageux mais pas téméraire", which means "brave but not foolhardy".


In the old lady example, the French expression _"courageux mais pas téméraire"_ is both what the guy would say to himself in a way to save his self-esteem, and what an outsider would say ironically (or cynically, in egueule's opinion).

Anyway, I rest my case


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## Cath.S.

david314 said:


> -egueule, I would not use our expression for _the little old lady_ example. In that case, the coward and the cynic might simply declare: *I don't want to get involved*.


Un point partout...
More natives' opinions, please!


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## calembourde

I wouldn't use the expression for the old lady example either, but then, it's a difficult situation to imagine, it's hard to know what I'd say.

This page suggests _deux précautions valent mieux qu'une_ and also:

_Méfiance est mère de sûreté._

What do the francophones think of that one?


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## notdominique

calembourde said:


> I wouldn't use the expression for the old lady example either, but then, it's a difficult situation to imagine, it's hard to know what I'd say.
> 
> This page suggests _deux précautions valent mieux qu'une_ and also:
> 
> _Méfiance est mère de sûreté._
> 
> What do the francophones think of that one?


 
The version I know is "Prudence est mère de sûreté".


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## mdmullins

xtrasystole said:


> In the old lady example, the French expression _"courageux mais pas téméraire"_ is both what the guy would say to himself in a way to save his self-esteem, and what an outsider would say ironically (or cynically, in egueule's opinion).
> 
> Anyway, I rest my case



Hello all,

Just my two cents, but the scenario with the old lady in the subway would definitely not fit the bill in English for '*better safe than sorry*'. We use this expression thus:It might rain; it might not. I'm going to bring an umbrella just in case--better safe than sorry.​*'Just in case'* is another way of saying *'better safe than sorry*'.

I'm still a little confused how this translates into French.

MDMullins


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## Moon Palace

My two French cents on this linguistic disagreement: 
'courageux mais pas téméraire' is used to put into relief a lack of bravery, and indeed it can be ironical and can be used to speak about oneself or about somebody else. 
'better safe than sorry' from what I gather from the reading of these posts may come down to the same meaning, but does definitely not bear the same connotations. This one emphasizes caution, and this caution may be well-grounded and not liable to criticism as in 'courageux...'.
So much so that the bottom line once more is the context and the locutor: his choice will be contingent on what he wants to stress about the situation. Of course we can provide examples which will allow to swap the two, but I wouldn't say they are synonymous. 
Hope it helps.


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## edwingill

I am now leaning toward "mieux vaut prévenir que guérir" I found this:"So Burrows advocates what's known as the precautionary principle. "Since we don't know at what level toxic chemicals can cause harm, why use them at all when we have safer alternatives? My mom used to say, 'Better safe than sorry.'?" The precautionary principle is defined here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle Further in the text they equate "better safe than sorry" with the precautionary principle.


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## Cath.S.

mdmullins said:


> Hello all,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just my two cents, but the scenario with the old lady in the subway would definitely not fit the bill in English for '*better safe than sorry*'. We use this expression thus:It might rain; it might not. I'm going to bring an umbrella just in case--better safe than sorry.​*'Just in case'* is another way of saying *'better safe than sorry*'.
> 
> I'm still a little confused how this translates into French.
> 
> MDMullins


_Il pourrait pleuvoir, je vais prendre un parapluie au cas où : mieux vaut prévenir que guérir._



			
				Edwingill said:
			
		

> I am now leaning toward "mieux vaut prévenir que guérir" I found this:"So Burrows advocates what's known as the precautionary principle. "Since we don't know at what level toxic chemicals can cause harm, why use them at all when we have safer alternatives? My mom used to say, 'Better safe than sorry.'?" The precautionary principle is defined here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle Further in the text they equate "better safe than sorry" with the precautionary principle.


Funny you should mention this, Edwingill, before going to sleep_ le principe de précaution_ also came to my mind in connection with this thread.
_Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir_ est en effet, dans la sagesse populaire, l'équivalent du_ principe de précaution_.


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## timpeac

Another native's opinion, if it's still needed - no "better safe than sorry" for the old lady example would not be said (although from the words I can see why you might think that it would work). "Better safe than sorry" is said defensively when you take a precaution to extremes. "Why are you wearing a belt and braces? Better safe than sorry!" It doesn't mean you are cowardly, or don't want to react to something to remain safe.

Edit - as well as overly-precautious "better safe than sorry" can refer to extremely (but not necessarily overly) precautious as in the umbrella example above.


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## meto54

Is it OK if I say "Mieux vaut être assuré que désolé" for "Better safe than sorry". Take it as my contribution to language

I came accross another saying that might be taken as the same meaning for "better safe than sorry": Méfiance est mère de sûreté. What do masters in rench language think?

Sorry it should be " French language"


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