if it ain't broke, don't fix it

English

Alternative forms

• if it ain't broken, don't fix it
• if it ain't busted, don't fix it

Etymology

Attested at least since 1962, originally Southern United States English; popularized by T. Bert Lance in May 1977.

Proverb

if it ain't broke, don't fix it

1. Leave something alone; avoid attempting to correct, fix, or improve what is already sufficient (often with an implication that the attempted improvement is risky and might backfire).

   I know it’s an ugly-looking antenna, but it gets the job done, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Synonyms

• leave well enough alone

Coordinate terms

• don’t change a winning team
• don’t change horses in midstream
• don’t mess with success
• let sleeping dogs lie

Translations

leave something alone

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 東西沒壞就別修它／东西没坏就别修它 (dōngxi méi huài jiù bié xiū tā)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: älä korjaa sitä, mikä ei ole rikki
• French: on ne change pas une équipe qui gagne (fr)
• German: ist es nicht hin, mach es nicht heil, repariere nichts, was nicht kaputt ist
• Hebrew: מה שעובד - לא נוגעים, אם זה לא מקולקל, אל תתקן
• Hindi: जो चीज़ खराब नहीं है उसे ठीक ना करें (jo cīz kharāb nahī̃ hai use ṭhīk nā karẽ)
• Hungarian: ha nincs baja, ne javítsd meg
• Japanese: 角を矯めて牛を殺す (ja) (つのをためて うしをころす, tsuno-wo-tamete ushi-wo-korosu)
• Polish: nie szukaj dziury w całym
• Portuguese: em time que está ganhando, não se mexe
• Russian: не сломалось — не чини (ne slomalosʹ — ne čini)
• Spanish: si funciona, no lo toques
• Swedish: om det inte är trasigt, fixa det inte
• Ukrainian: не зла́мано - не ладна́й (ne zlámano - ne ladnáj)