English[edit]
Proverb[edit]
you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours
- If you do me a favor then I will do you a favor; quid pro quo.
1974, “Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out)”, in John Lennon (lyrics), Walls and Bridges, performed by John Lennon:Everybody's hustling for a buck and a dime / I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine
Translations[edit]
if you do me a favor then I will do you a favor
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 互惠互利, 滴水之恩，当涌泉相报
- Finnish: vuoroin vieraissa käydään
- French: on ne donne rien pour rien (fr), on n’a rien pour rien (fr), donnant donnant (fr)
- Galician: hoxe por min, mañá por ti
- German: eine Hand wäscht die andere (de) (literally “one hand washes the other”); von nichts kommt nichts (literally “nothing comes from nothing”)
- Hebrew: שמור לי ואשמור לך, יד רוחצת יד (he), טובה תחת טובה (he)
- Hungarian: kéz kezet mos (hu), valamit valamiért
- Italian: una mano lava l'altra (literally “one hand washes the other”)
- Japanese: 魚心あれば水心あり (ja) (うおごころ-あれば-みずごころ-あり uo'gokoro-areba-mizu'gokoro-ari)
- Norwegian: du klør meg på ryggen, og jeg klør deg på ryggen, du klør min rygg, og jeg klør din
- Polish: ręka rękę myje (pl), przysługa za przysługę
- Portuguese: uma mão lava a outra
- Romanian: o mână spală pe alta (literally “one hand washes another”), serviciu contra serviciu (literally “favor for favor”)
- Russian: ты — мне, я — тебе́ (ty — mne, ja — tebé, literally “you (give something) to me, I (give something) to you”), рука́ ру́ку мо́ет (ru) (ruká rúku mójet, literally “one hand washes another”), услу́га за услу́гу (uslúga za uslúgu)
- Scottish Gaelic: am fear a thèid san droigheann dhomh, thèid mi san dris dha (literally “the man who goes into the thorny bush for me, I'll go into the thorny bush for him”)
- Slovak: ruka ruku myje
- Spanish: hoy por ti, mañana por mí, favor con favor se paga
- Swahili: mwosha huoshwa
- Swedish: tjänster och gentjänster
- Thai: ยื่นหมูยื่นแมว (yêun mŏo yêun maew)
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