"you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink" meaning in All languages combined

See you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink on Wiktionary

Proverb [English]

Head templates: {{head|en|proverb|head=}} you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink, {{en-proverb}} you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink
  1. You can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it. Related terms: there are none so blind as those who will not see Translations (you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it): ja pots xiular si l'ase no vol beure (Catalan), madala nimo ang baka sa suba apan dili nimo mainom (Cebuano), 牛唔飲水唔撳得牛頭低 (Chinese Cantonese), man kan tvinge hesten til truget, men man kan ikke tvinge den til at drikke (Danish), met onwillige honden is het slecht hazen vangen (english: It's bad to catch hares with unwilling dogs) (Dutch), voit viedä hevosen veden ääreen, mutta et voi pakottaa sitä juomaan (Finnish), on ne saurait faire boire un âne qui n’a pas soif (english: You can't force a donkey to drink when he's not thirsty) (French), man kann den Gaul zur Tränke führen, aber saufen muss er selber (German), हम किसी को कुछ करने का अवसर दे सकते पर उनपर उसे करने के लिए दबाव नहीं बना सकते (ham kisī ko kuch karne kā avsar de sakte par unapar use karne ke lie dabāv nahī̃ banā sakte) (Hindi), puoi portare un cavallo all'acqua ma non puoi farlo bere (Italian), 馬を水辺に導く事は出来るが馬に水を飲ませる事は出来ない (uma o mizube ni michibikukoto wa dekiru ga uma ni mizu o nomaserukoto-wa dekinai) (english: literal, non-idiomatic) (alt: うまをみずべにみちびくことはできるがうまにみずをのませることはできない) (Japanese), du kan lede en hest til vannet, men du kan ikke tvinge den til å drikke (Norwegian Bokmål), możesz konia doprowadzić do wodopoju, lecz pić za niego się nie da (Polish), você pode levar um cavalo até a água, mas não pode fazê-lo beber (Portuguese), мо́жно привести́ ло́шадь к воде́, но нельзя́ заста́вить её пить (móžno privestí lóšadʹ k vodé, no nelʹzjá zastávitʹ jejó pitʹ) (Russian), ged a bheirte a' bhó dhan doras mhór rachadh i fhéin dhan bhàthaich (Scottish Gaelic), గుర్రాన్ని చెరువుదాకా లాక్కెళ్ళవచ్చు గాని, దానిచేత నీళ్ళు తాగించలేము (gurrānni ceruvudākā lākkeḷḷavaccu gāni, dānicēta nīḷḷu tāgiñcalēmu) (Telugu)

Download JSON data for you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink meaning in All languages combined (6.0kB)

{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink",
      "name": "en-proverb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Cantonese terms with redundant transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Telugu terms with redundant script codes",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant script codes",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "You can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it."
      ],
      "id": "en-you_can_lead_a_horse_to_water,_but_you_can't_make_it_drink-en-proverb-x26XNQeZ",
      "links": [
        [
          "show",
          "show"
        ],
        [
          "someone",
          "someone"
        ],
        [
          "do",
          "do"
        ],
        [
          "something",
          "something"
        ],
        [
          "make",
          "make"
        ],
        [
          "them",
          "them"
        ],
        [
          "it",
          "it"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "there are none so blind as those who will not see"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "ja pots xiular si l'ase no vol beure"
        },
        {
          "code": "ceb",
          "lang": "Cebuano",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "madala nimo ang baka sa suba apan dili nimo mainom"
        },
        {
          "code": "yue",
          "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "牛唔飲水唔撳得牛頭低"
        },
        {
          "code": "yue",
          "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
          "note": "牛唔饮水唔揿得牛头低 (ngau⁴ m⁴ jam² seoi² m⁴ gam⁶ dak¹ ngau⁴ tau⁴ dai¹, literally “if a cow does not drink water, one cannot press its head down”)",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "man kan tvinge hesten til truget, men man kan ikke tvinge den til at drikke"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "english": "It's bad to catch hares with unwilling dogs",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "met onwillige honden is het slecht hazen vangen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "voit viedä hevosen veden ääreen, mutta et voi pakottaa sitä juomaan"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "english": "You can't force a donkey to drink when he's not thirsty",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "on ne saurait faire boire un âne qui n’a pas soif"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "man kann den Gaul zur Tränke führen, aber saufen muss er selber"
        },
        {
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "roman": "ham kisī ko kuch karne kā avsar de sakte par unapar use karne ke lie dabāv nahī̃ banā sakte",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "हम किसी को कुछ करने का अवसर दे सकते पर उनपर उसे करने के लिए दबाव नहीं बना सकते"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "puoi portare un cavallo all'acqua ma non puoi farlo bere"
        },
        {
          "alt": "うまをみずべにみちびくことはできるがうまにみずをのませることはできない",
          "code": "ja",
          "english": "literal, non-idiomatic",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "uma o mizube ni michibikukoto wa dekiru ga uma ni mizu o nomaserukoto-wa dekinai",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "馬を水辺に導く事は出来るが馬に水を飲ませる事は出来ない"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "du kan lede en hest til vannet, men du kan ikke tvinge den til å drikke"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "możesz konia doprowadzić do wodopoju, lecz pić za niego się nie da"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "você pode levar um cavalo até a água, mas não pode fazê-lo beber"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "móžno privestí lóšadʹ k vodé, no nelʹzjá zastávitʹ jejó pitʹ",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "мо́жно привести́ ло́шадь к воде́, но нельзя́ заста́вить её пить"
        },
        {
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "ged a bheirte a' bhó dhan doras mhór rachadh i fhéin dhan bhàthaich"
        },
        {
          "code": "te",
          "lang": "Telugu",
          "roman": "gurrānni ceruvudākā lākkeḷḷavaccu gāni, dānicēta nīḷḷu tāgiñcalēmu",
          "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
          "word": "గుర్రాన్ని చెరువుదాకా లాక్కెళ్ళవచ్చు గాని, దానిచేత నీళ్ళు తాగించలేము"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink"
}
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink",
      "name": "en-proverb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "there are none so blind as those who will not see"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Cantonese terms with redundant transliterations",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English proverbs",
        "Japanese terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
        "Requests for review of Mandarin translations",
        "Telugu terms with redundant script codes"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "You can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "show",
          "show"
        ],
        [
          "someone",
          "someone"
        ],
        [
          "do",
          "do"
        ],
        [
          "something",
          "something"
        ],
        [
          "make",
          "make"
        ],
        [
          "them",
          "them"
        ],
        [
          "it",
          "it"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "ja pots xiular si l'ase no vol beure"
    },
    {
      "code": "ceb",
      "lang": "Cebuano",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "madala nimo ang baka sa suba apan dili nimo mainom"
    },
    {
      "code": "yue",
      "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "牛唔飲水唔撳得牛頭低"
    },
    {
      "code": "yue",
      "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
      "note": "牛唔饮水唔揿得牛头低 (ngau⁴ m⁴ jam² seoi² m⁴ gam⁶ dak¹ ngau⁴ tau⁴ dai¹, literally “if a cow does not drink water, one cannot press its head down”)",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "man kan tvinge hesten til truget, men man kan ikke tvinge den til at drikke"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "english": "It's bad to catch hares with unwilling dogs",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "met onwillige honden is het slecht hazen vangen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "voit viedä hevosen veden ääreen, mutta et voi pakottaa sitä juomaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "english": "You can't force a donkey to drink when he's not thirsty",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "on ne saurait faire boire un âne qui n’a pas soif"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "man kann den Gaul zur Tränke führen, aber saufen muss er selber"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "roman": "ham kisī ko kuch karne kā avsar de sakte par unapar use karne ke lie dabāv nahī̃ banā sakte",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "हम किसी को कुछ करने का अवसर दे सकते पर उनपर उसे करने के लिए दबाव नहीं बना सकते"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "puoi portare un cavallo all'acqua ma non puoi farlo bere"
    },
    {
      "alt": "うまをみずべにみちびくことはできるがうまにみずをのませることはできない",
      "code": "ja",
      "english": "literal, non-idiomatic",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "uma o mizube ni michibikukoto wa dekiru ga uma ni mizu o nomaserukoto-wa dekinai",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "馬を水辺に導く事は出来るが馬に水を飲ませる事は出来ない"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "du kan lede en hest til vannet, men du kan ikke tvinge den til å drikke"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "możesz konia doprowadzić do wodopoju, lecz pić za niego się nie da"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "você pode levar um cavalo até a água, mas não pode fazê-lo beber"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "móžno privestí lóšadʹ k vodé, no nelʹzjá zastávitʹ jejó pitʹ",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "мо́жно привести́ ло́шадь к воде́, но нельзя́ заста́вить её пить"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "ged a bheirte a' bhó dhan doras mhór rachadh i fhéin dhan bhàthaich"
    },
    {
      "code": "te",
      "lang": "Telugu",
      "roman": "gurrānni ceruvudākā lākkeḷḷavaccu gāni, dānicēta nīḷḷu tāgiñcalēmu",
      "sense": "you can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it",
      "word": "గుర్రాన్ని చెరువుదాకా లాక్కెళ్ళవచ్చు గాని, దానిచేత నీళ్ళు తాగించలేము"
    }
  ],
  "word": "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-06-04 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (e9e0a99 and db5a844). 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.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.