nobody's perfect

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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Phrase

nobody's perfect

1. Used when someone's mistakes or flaws are acknowledged, to remind that everyone else makes mistakes and has flaws.
   • 1958, Some Like It Hot, film by Billy Wilder, starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe.

     When Jerry (Jack Lemmon) disguised as "Daphne" tries to fend off Osgood Fielding's insistent proposals of marriage with one excuse after another with no success, he finally yanks off his wig wig and shouts, "I'm a man!" to which Osgood amiably replies, Well, nobody's perfect.

   • 1995, New York Magazine Vol. 28, No. 5, 30 January 1995, The de-moralization of society (Book Review)

     Hypocrisy, particularly in sexual matters, is excused on the grounds that hey, nobody's perfect, and at least folks back then felt bad enough to lie.

   • 2000, Madonna, Nobody's Perfect

     I feel so sad. What I did wasn't right. I feel so bad and I must say to you: Sorry, but nobody's perfect. Nobody's perfect. What did you expect? I'm doing my best

Synonyms

• we all make mistakes

Translations

phrase to remind that we all fail at times

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 人無完人／人无完人 (zh) (rén wú wánrén), 人非聖賢，孰能無過／人非圣贤，孰能无过 (rén fēi shèngxián, shú néng wú guò)

• Danish: ingen er perfekt
• Finnish: kukaan ei ole täydellinen
• French: nul n’est parfait
• German: niemand ist perfekt
• Hindi: कोई भी पूर्ण नहीं है (koī bhī pūrṇ nahī̃ hai)
• Indonesian: tiada yang sempurna, bumi mana yang tidak ditimpa hujan
• Japanese: 完全無欠な人はいない (かんぜんむけつなひとはいない, kanzen muketsu na hito wa inai)
• Malay: bumi mana yang tidak ditimpa hujan
• Polish: nikt nie jest doskonały
• Russian: никто́ не соверше́нен (niktó ne soveršénen)
• Spanish: nadie es perfecto
• Swedish: ingen är perfekt, även solen har sina fläckar (sv)
• Tagalog: walang perpekto, tao lang, nagkakamali
• Turkish: herkes hata yapar

Anagrams

• pobody's nerfect