"better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness" meaning in All languages combined

See better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness on Wiktionary

Proverb [English]

Etymology: Often claimed to be an ancient Chinese proverb. Also often misattributed to Eleanor Roosevelt. Earliest known usage is a 1907 sermon by English preacher William Lonsdale Watkinson. Head templates: {{head|en|proverb|head=better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness}} better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness
  1. Even in the face of hopelessness and discontent, it is more worthwhile to do some good, however small, in response, than to complain about the situation. Synonyms: better to light one candle than to curse the darkness, better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness, better to light a candle than to curse the darkness Translations (in bad times it is worthwhile to do good): 與其詛咒黑暗,不如點燃一根蠟燭 (Chinese Mandarin), 与其诅咒黑暗 (Chinese Mandarin), 不如点燃一根蜡烛 (yǔqí zǔzhòu hēi'àn, bùrú diǎnrán yī gēn làzhú) (Chinese Mandarin), marjakin on poimittava maasta (Finnish), em vez de amaldiçoar a escuridão, é melhor acender uma vela (Portuguese), es mejor encender una sola vela que maldecir a la penumbra (Spanish), karanlığa söveceğine bir mum yak (Turkish)

Alternative forms

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          "word": "karanlığa söveceğine bir mum yak"
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    },
    {
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      "word": "與其詛咒黑暗,不如點燃一根蠟燭"
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      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "in bad times it is worthwhile to do good",
      "word": "karanlığa söveceğine bir mum yak"
    }
  ],
  "word": "better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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