«اِللِّي تْسَوِّدْ مَا تْزَوِّدْ»

The proverb rejects the idea that every extra item makes a thing better. When an addition leaves something soiled or spoiled, it brings no benefit despite being attached to it. Its image is of soiling, not a mere change of color.

The saying warns against judging value by mere accumulation. Anything brought in that degrades the whole—whether an object, contribution, or consequence—fails to enrich it and may leave it worse than before. English versions using “gain” convey this judgment of value rather than a word-for-word rendering.

Used when an apparent extra brings contamination, deterioration, or another damaging effect. It can comment on material things or, by extension, on any addition whose drawbacks outweigh its supposed value.