when in Rome, do as the Romans do

English dictionary entry

Meanings

proverb
  1. When situated in a foreign place, it is wise to follow the local customs.
  2. It is wise to adapt to the circumstances; it is wise to follow common custom.

Pronunciation

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-when in Rome, do as the Romans do.wav

Word forms

when in Rome, do as the Romans do when in Rome, do as the Romans when in Rome, do like the Romans do

Etymology

The first attestation is Medieval Latin si fueris Rōmae, Rōmānō vīvitō mōre; si fueris alibī, vīvitō sīcut ibī (“if you should be in Rome, live in the Roman manner; if you should be elsewhere, live as they do there”), which is attributed to St Ambrose (c. 339–397). Robert Burton in his Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) uses the phrase “When they are at Rome, they doe there as they ſee done.”

Synonyms

Translations

Arabic: عِنْدَمَا تَكُون فِي رُومَا، اِفْعَل مَا يَفْعَلَه الرُّومَان Arabic: يا غَريب كون اَديب Armenian: որտեղ որ գնաս, այն երկրի գդակը ծածկիր Armenian: ում սելին նստես նրա հորովելը կանչիր Basque: Gorostian gorosti, Donostian Donosti Bulgarian: в Рим като́ ри́мляните Burmese: ရောမရောက်ရင် ရောမလို ကျင့်ရမယ် Catalan: cada terra fa sa guerra Catalan: a terra que vas, usança que trobes Chinese Cantonese: 入鄉隨俗 /入乡随俗 Chinese Cantonese: 入屋叫人,入廟拜神 /入屋叫人 Chinese Mandarin: 入鄉隨俗 /入乡随俗 Czech: jiný kraj, jiný mrav Czech: kdo chce s vlky býti, musí s nimi výti Danish: skik følge eller land fly Danish: man må hyle med de ulve man er iblandt Dutch: 's lands wijs, 's lands eer Esperanto: alia lando, aliaj moroj Esperanto: en Romio, agu kiel Romiano Esperanto: kies gasto mi estas, ties feston mi festas Esperanto: inter lupoj, kriu lupe Faroese: sær er siður á landi Finnish: maassa maan tavalla French: autre pays, autre coutume French: à Rome, fais comme les Romains Galician: cada país seu uso, cada roca seu fuso Georgian: სადაც წახვალ იქაური ქუდი დაიხურე German: andere Länder, andere Sitten German: man muss mit den Wölfen heulen Greek: quoted in English Hebrew: בְּרוֹמָא הִתְנַהֵג כְּרוֹמָאי Hindi: जैसा देश वैसा भेष Hungarian: ha Rómában élsz, élj úgy, mint a rómaiak Icelandic: sinn er siður í landi hverju Indonesian: di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung Irish: fág an tír nó bí san fhaisean Italian: paese che vai, usanze che trovi Italian: a Roma, fai come i romani Italian: quando a Roma vai, fai come vedrai Italian: quando sei a Roma, vivi come i romani Japanese: 郷に入っては郷に従え Japanese: 郷に入りては郷に従え Korean: 로마에 가면 로마법을 따르라 Korean: 고을에 들어가면 고을 풍속을 따르라 Northern Kurdish: li gorî derdor û adetên xwecihî tevgeriyan Latin: si fueris Rōmae, Rōmānō vīvitō mōre; si fueris alibī, vīvitō sīcut ibī Lithuanian: Romoje elkis kaip romėnai Malay: di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung Malay: masuk ke dalam kandang kambing mengembek, masuk ke dalam kandang kerbau menguak Maltese: meta tkun Ruma, agħmel bħal Rumani Norwegian Bokmål: når man er i Rom gjør man som romerne Persian: خواهی نشوی رسوا همرنگ جماعت شو Polish: jeśli wejdziesz między wrony, musisz krakać jak i one Polish: w czyim chlebie smakujemy, tego i pochlebujemy Polish: co kraj, to obyczaj Portuguese: quando em Roma, faça como os romanos Portuguese: em Roma sê romano Romanian: la Roma, faci ca romanii Scottish Gaelic: beus na tuath air am bithear 's e a nithear Scottish Gaelic: dèan san Òban a rèir an Òbain Scottish Gaelic: san Òban, dèan mar an t-Òban Serbo-Croatian: кад си у Риму, понашај се као Римљанин Serbo-Croatian: kad si u Rimu, ponašaj se kao Rimljanin
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