Beauty is no inheritance.

Beauty is not something a family can hand down with the certainty of property. Having an attractive parent does not guarantee that a child will look the same.

The proverb cautions against treating appearance as an entitlement that comes with family background. It does not deny that relatives may resemble one another; it rejects the assumption that beauty must pass from one generation to the next.

Use the saying to question an expectation that a child will inherit a parent's good looks, or to challenge talk of beauty as though it were a family possession. Avoid directing it at a particular person's appearance if that would sound insulting.