beggars can't be choosers

English

Proverb

beggars can't be choosers

(idiomatic) Something is better than nothing: those who can't provide for themselves should accept whatever help is available.

Synonyms

something is better than nothing, half a loaf is better than none, don't look a gift horse in the mouth; see also Thesaurus:satisfactory

Coordinate terms

Translations

when resources are limited, one must accept even substandard gifts

Arabic: please add this translation if you can
Bulgarian: на хари́зан кон зъ́бите не се гле́дат (na harízan kon zǎ́bite ne se glédat)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 飢不擇食／饥不择食 (zh) (jībùzéshí)
Czech: lepší vrabec v hrsti než holub na střeše (cs)
Dutch: men mag een gegeven paard niet in de bek zien
Estonian: vaene ei tohi pirtsutada
Finnish: köyhällä ei ole varaa nirsoilla
French: faute de grives, on mange des merles (fr)
German: in der Not schmeckt jedes Brot, in der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen (de)
Hungarian: éhes ember nem válogat (hu), eszi, nem eszi, nem kap mást, ez van, ezt kell szeretni
Icelandic: vandfýsni hæfir ekki snauðum, (figurative) hafa skal það sem hendi er næst
Italian: a caval donato non si guarda in bocca
Japanese: please add this translation if you can
Korean: please add this translation if you can
Malay:
Jawi: برشکور دڠن يڠ اد

Rumi: bersyukur dengan yang ada
Polish: jak się nie ma, co się lubi, to się lubi, co się ma (pl), lepszy rydz niż nic (pl), lepszy wróbel w garści niż gołąb na dachu (pl), lepszy wróbel w ręku niż cietrzew na sęku (pl), lepszy wróbel w ręku niż sokół na sęku (pl), na bezrybiu i rak ryba (pl), z braku laku dobry kit (pl)
Portuguese: a cavalo dado não se olha os dentes
Romanian: nemulțumitului i se ia darul, calul de dar nu se caută la dinți
Russian: бедняки́ не выбира́ют (bednjakí ne vybirájut)
Scottish Gaelic: na dèan àilgheas air tìodhlac
Slovene: v sili še hudič muhe žre
Spanish: a caballo regalado no le mires el diente, a mucha hambre, no hay pan duro
Swedish: skåda inte given häst i munnen
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can
Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

References

Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 22.

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