- English translation
Better to bear a friend's faults than to lose him.
- Literal wording
My patience toward my friend, or his absence.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying holds that it is better to put up with a friend's shortcomings and irritating habits than to be left with no friend at all. The speaker accepts an imperfect companion as the price of keeping company.
The contrast between enduring unpleasant traits and having no companionship is implied rather than stated, so it must be drawn from context. The expression justifies patience within a relationship; it concedes tolerance and does not praise the friend's flaws.
- When it is used
Used when someone chooses to stay patient with a friend whose behavior is annoying, reasoning that solitude would be worse than the friction. It fits advice to someone considering cutting ties over minor faults, or a self-justifying remark about loyalty. Keep it conversational.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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