don't cry over spilt milk

English

Alternative forms

• don't cry over spilled milk
• there's no use crying over spilt milk

Pronunciation

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Proverb

don't cry over spilt milk

1. It is no use worrying about unfortunate events which have already happened and which cannot be changed.

Translations

it is no use worrying about unfortunate events which have already happened

• Arabic: لا تبك على الحليب المسكوب (ar) (lā tabk ʿálā al-ḥalīb al-maskūb)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 覆水難收 (cmn), 覆水难收 (cmn) (fùshuǐnánshōu), (the timber has been turned into a boat already) 木已成舟 (cmn) (mùyǐchéngzhōu)

• Czech: neplač nad rozlitým mlékem (cs)
• Dutch: gedane zaken nemen geen keer (nl)
• Finnish: ei kannata itkeä kaatunutta maitoa (fi)
• French: il ne faut pas pleurer sur le lait renversé (fr)
• German: hin ist hin (de)
• Hebrew: אין בוכים על חלב שנשפך (he)
• Icelandic: ekki er hægt að sjá við öllum leka (is)
• Irish: níl maith sa seanchas nuair a bhíos an anachain déanta (ga)

• Italian: non piangere sul latte versato (it), inutile piangere sul latte versato (it)
• Japanese: 覆水盆に返らず (ja) (ふくすいぼんにかえらず, fukusui bon ni kaerazu)
• Malay:

  Rumi: nasi sudah menjadi bubur (ms)

  Jawi: ناسي سوده منجادي بوبور (ms)

• Norwegian: ikke gråt over spilt melk (no)
• Polish: nie płacz nad rozlanym mlekiem (pl)
• Portuguese: não chore sobre o leite derramado (pt)
• Russian: о пролитом молоке не плачут (ru) (o prolítom moloké ne pláčut)
• Spanish: no llorar sobre la leche derramada (es), no llorar por la leche derramada (es)
• Swedish: gråt inte över spilld mjölk (sv)

See also

• what's done is done

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, ISBN 0-679-44554-4, p. 63.