Thread: An equivalent English sayin

I have to translate "Pero la suerte de la fea la bonita la desea" . Any ideas of an English equivalent saying?

Originally Posted by Xóchitl L.

Hello Kieran,

I will give you a close translation for now. I will ask my American friends if there is an equivalent saying in English and I will let you know as soon as I get an answer.

But the luck of the ugly one, desires the beautiful one.


Xóchitl L.

Thanks Xóchitl L.. I found similar types of translations on the internet, but none in terms of an equivalent English saying. There is one, but it doesn't quite fit, because the book is talking about beauty not goodness.

"Good girls go to heaven, but bad girls go everywhere".

I eventually came up with this to try and preserve some of the rhythm and rhyme of the original piece.

“The pretty prefer the fate of the plain"

But this is really just a translation of it, not an equivalent English saying...

Hi XochitlL..

Thanks for your interest..In fact, I have not forgotten an "s". "The pretty prefer the fate of the plain" is correct. It is because "The pretty" is plural. It is a shortened form of "The pretty ones prefer the fate of the plain". Other examples would be, "The arrogant are always in the cities", "The lazy are always on social security". etc.

Originally Posted by Kieran

Hi XochitlL..

Thanks for your interest..In fact, I have not forgotten an "s". "The pretty prefer the fate of the plain" is correct. It is because "The pretty" is plural. It is a shortened form of "The pretty ones prefer the fate of the plain".

You are sooo right. I got confused because I grew up in Mexico hearing the Spanish saying always in singular form: La fea ... la bonita.

Thanks a lot for the information. I love learning!!