strike while the iron is hot

English

Verb

strike while the iron is hot

1. (literally, metallurgy) To strike a hot piece of metal, especially iron, with a mallet or other tool before it cools, while it is still hot enough to be shaped.
2. (idiomatic) To act on an opportunity promptly while favorable conditions exist; to avoid waiting.

   We should strike while the iron is hot and order some immediately, before they change the offer.

Usage notes

• When expressed in the imperative mood, this term is a well-known saying or proverb:

  Strike while the iron is hot!

Synonyms

• make hay while the sun shines

Translations

act on an opportunity promptly

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 趁熱打鐵 (cmn), 趁热打铁 (cmn) (chènrèdǎtiě), 打鐵趁熱 (cmn), 打铁趁热 (cmn) (dǎtiěchènrè)

  Min Nan: trad. 魚趁生，人趁茈, simpl. 鱼趁生，人趁茈 (hî-thàn-chhiⁿ, lâng-thàn-chíⁿ)

• Czech: kout železo, dokud je žhavé (cs)
• Danish: smede mens jernet er varmt (da)
• Finnish: tao, kun rauta on kuumaa
• French: il faut battre le fer pendant qu’il est chaud (fr)
• German: man muss das Eisen schmieden, solange es heiß ist (de)
• Hindi: लोहा गरम हैं. मार दो हथौड़ा. (hi)
• Hungarian: addig üsd a vasat, amíg meleg (hu)
• Irish: buail an t-iarann te (ga)
• Italian: battere il ferro finché è caldo (it)
• Japanese: 善は急げ (ja) (ぜんはいそげ, zen-wa isoge), 膳は急げ (ja) (ぜんはいそげ, zen-wa isoge), 鉄は熱いうちに打て (ja) (てつはあついうちにうて, tetsu wa atsui uchi ni ute)

• Lingala: otútá ebendé ntángo ezalí na mɔ̌tɔ
• Lithuanian: kalti geležį, kol ji karšta (lt)
• Macedonian: железото се кове додека е жешко (mk) (želézoto se kóve dódeka e žéško)
• Maltese: il-ftira sħuna tajba (mt)
• Norwegian: smi mens jernet er varmt (no)
• Polish: kuj żelazo póki gorące (pl)
• Russian: куй железо, пока горячо (ru) (kuj želézo, poká gorjačó)
• Serbo-Croatian: željezo se kuje dok je vruće (sh)
• Spanish: batir el hierro cuando está al rojo
• Swedish: smida medan järnet är varmt (sv)
• Thai: ตีเหล็กเมื่อแดง กินแกงเมื่อร้อน (th) (tii lèk mêua daeng, kin kaeng mêua rón)
• Turkish: demir tavında dövülür (tr)

Proverb

strike while the iron is hot

1. Take advantage of opportunity.

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, ISBN 0-679-44554-4, p. 309.