a bad workman always blames his tools

English

Alternative forms

• a bad carpenter blames his tools
• a poor workman blames his tools

Proverb

a bad workman always blames his tools

1. It is not the tools we use which make us good, but rather how we employ them.

Translations

not the tools but how they're employed

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 一个坏的工人总是指责他的工具 (cmn) (Yīgè huài de gōngrén zǒng shì zhǐzé tā de gōngjù)

• Finnish: kyllä sika syitä löytää, välillä on maa jäässä, välillä kärsä kipeä (fi)
• French: à méchant ouvrier, point de bon outil (fr)
• Icelandic: (a bad rower blames his oar) árinni kennir illur ræðari (is)
• Malay:

  Rumi: tak tahu menari dikatakan lantai jongkang-jongket (ms), tak tahu menari dikatakan tanah tinggi rendah (ms), tak tahu menganyam pandan disalahkan (ms)

  Jawi: تق تاهو مناري دکاتاکن لنتاي جوڠکڠ-جوڠکيت (ms), تق تاهو مناري دکاتاکن تانه تيڠݢي رنده (ms), تق تاهو مڠاڽم ڤندن دسالهکن (ms)

• Polish: złej baletnicy szkodzi rąbek przy spódnicy (pl)
• Russian: плохому танцору и яйца мешают (ru) (ploxómu tancóru i jájca mešájut) (bad dancer is impeded even by (his own) balls), неча на зеркало пенять, коли рожа крива (ru) (néča na zérkalo penját', kóli róža krivá) (don't blame the mirror if your mug is skewed), мастер глуп — нож туп (ru) (máser glup — nož tup) (if the worker is stupid, his knife is blunt)