🤖 Literally, in English
“Better a titmouse in your hands than a crane in the sky.”
Краще синиця в руках, ніж журавель у небі. Krashche synytsia v rukakh, nizh zhuravel u nebi
🤨 What does it ACTUALLY mean? →
🇬🇧 What you'd actually say
“Take the sure thing over the maybe.”
also: “Don't gamble a certainty on a dream.” · “Something real beats something possible.”
- 📖 Meaning
- A small certain gain is better than a big uncertain one.
- 💡 Why it's funny
- English keeps its birds anonymous. Ukrainian names both species and puts one of them in the sky, so you can see exactly what you're giving up.
- 🧭 Closest English idiom
- “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
- 📝 Explanation
- Said about job offers, deals and relationships — usually by the more cautious person in the conversation.
🧠 Learn
- sure thing (phrase) — something certain to happen or succeed — певна річ, гарантія “The job is a sure thing.”
- settle for (phrase) — to accept something less than you wanted — погодитися на “He settled for a smaller salary.”
🗣 In context
Бери цю пропозицію. Краще синиця в руках, ніж журавель у небі.
Take this offer. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
🎧 Hear the contrast
dontpushthehorses.xyz
