English[edit]
Proverb[edit]
great minds think alike (fools seldom differ)
- Used to emphasize a coincidence, or two people reaching the same conclusion in any manner at the same time.
- Person A: He looks a bit like David Beckham...
- Person B: I was just thinking that!
- Person A: Great minds think alike, eh?
- Person C: More like fools seldom differ in this case...
Usage notes[edit]
The "Fools seldom differ" part is found in British English, while the aphorism is usually phrased "... and fools rarely differ" in American English.
Translations[edit]
used to emphasize two people reaching the same conclusion
- Catalan: grants ments tenen els mateixos pensaments
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 英雄所見略同／英雄所见略同 (zh) (yīngxióng suǒjiàn lüètóng)
- Dutch: grote geesten denken gelijk
- Finnish: sitä minäkin juuri ajattelin
- French: les grands esprits se rencontrent (fr)
- German: zwei Seelen, ein Gedanke (literally “two souls, one thought”), (now more often) zwei Dumme, ein Gedanke (literally “two fools, one thought”)
- Greek: τα μεγάλα πνεύματα συναντώνται (ta megála pnévmata synantóntai)
- Hebrew: מוחות גדולים חושבים בצורה דומה
- Irish: tuigeann fáidh fáidh eile
- Japanese: 賢人は皆同じように考えるものだ (けんじんはみんなおなじようにかんがえるものだ, kenjin wa minna onaji yō ni kangaeru mono da)
- Korean: 역지즉개연(易地則皆然) (yeokjijeukgaeyeon), 역지사지(易地思之) (ko) (yeokjisaji)
- Norwegian: store hoder tenker likt, to sjeler, en tanke (literally “two souls, one thought”)
- Polish: wielkie umysły myślą tak samo
- Portuguese: grandes mentes pensam igual, grandes mentes pensam da mesma forma
- Russian: у дурако́в мы́сли схо́дятся (u durakóv mýsli sxódjatsja, literally “fools' thoughts converge”)
- Scottish Gaelic: tha inntinnean móra a' co-smaoineachadh
- Spanish: grandes mentes piensan igual
- Swedish: två själar, en tanke, två själar, samma tanke
- Turkish: aklın yolu bir
- Welsh: tebyg meddwl pob doeth, unfarn pob doeth
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References[edit]
- Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 125.
