a stitch in time saves nine

English

From the practice of mending a small tear in cloth before it becomes a larger one.

A little effort expended sooner to fix a small problem prevents it from becoming a larger problem requiring more effort to fix later.
A little preparation can eliminate the need for repairs later.

a timely effort can prevent larger problems

Chinese:
Mandarin: 小洞不補，大洞吃苦, 小洞不补，大洞吃苦 (xiǎo dòng bù bǔ, dà dòng chīkǔ), 防微杜漸 (zh), 防微杜渐 (zh) (fángwēidùjiàn), 事半功倍 (zh) (shìbàngōngbèi) (half the work, twice the effect)
Dutch: werk op tijd maakt welbereid
Finnish: parempi katsoa kuin katua
French: un point fait à temps en épargne cent, mieux vaut prévenir que guérir (fr)
German: was du heute kannst besorgen, das verschiebe nicht auf morgen (de)
Greek: κάλλιο γαϊδουρόδενε παρά γαϊδουρογύρευε (kállio gaïdouródene pará gaïdourogýreve)
Hungarian: a rest kétszer fárad (hu)
Italian: meglio prevenire che curare, prevenire è meglio che curare, è meglio prevenire che curare
Korean: 호미로 막을 것을 가래로 막는다 (ko) (homiro mageul geoseul garaero mangneunda) (what can be stopped up with a short-handled hoe must be done with a shovel later)

Norwegian:
Bokmål: utsett ikke til i morgen, det du kan gjøre i dag (no)
Polish: lepiej zapobiegać niż leczyć (pl)
Portuguese: é melhor prevenir do que remediar
Russian: оди́н стежо́к, сде́ланный во́время, сто́ит девяти́ (odín stežók, sdélannyj vóvremja, stóit devjatí)
Serbo-Croatian: ono što možeš učiniti danas, ne ostavljaj za sutra
Spanish: más vale prevenir que curar
Swedish: bättre att stämma i bäcken än i ån
Turkish: bir mıh nal kurtarır, bir nal bir at kurtarır

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