- English translation
Better to lose a thousand fruits than the tree itself.
- Literal wording
A thousand fruits, not the rooted plant.
- Meaning and lesson
This traditional saying consoles a mother after the death of a child or children by comparing children to fruit and the mother to the plant that remains rooted. Its force is to stress that, however grievous the loss, the mother herself survives.
The image says that fruit may be lost while the plant that bears it endures, turning attention to the bereaved mother's continued life and strength. It is consolation rather than a claim that a child's death is unimportant, though the comparison can sound emotionally blunt in fresh grief.
- When it is used
Used traditionally to console a mother after the death of a child or children. Because its direct image treats children as fruit and the mother as the enduring plant, it is best reserved for settings where that imagery is welcome and will not seem stark or insufficiently sensitive.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Better to lose a thousand fruits than the tree itself.