- English translation
You cannot do without what you truly need.
- Literal wording
What cannot be done without cannot be dispensed with.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying expresses a straightforward truth about necessity: something indispensable remains necessary, however inconvenient it may be. It rejects the idea that a real need can be set aside merely by deciding to go without it.
It draws a distinction between what is essential and what is merely optional. Its point is that a person cannot be independent of something required for their needs, because need itself makes that thing impossible to forgo.
- When it is used
Use it to state that a needed thing cannot realistically be abandoned or treated as unnecessary. It fits a plain, matter-of-fact observation about dependence on what is essential.
Cite or copy proverb
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