English
Etymology
Calque of Latin in regione caecorum rex est luscus , credited to Desiderius Erasmus 's Adagia (1500).
A similar (yet much earlier, dating to the 4th or 5th century CE) turn of phrase , and Erasmus' possible inspiration, appears in the Genesis Rabbah as "בשוק סמייא צווחין לעווירא סגי נהור", meaning "In the street of the blind, the one-eyed man is called the Guiding Light".
Proverb
in the land of the blind , the one-eyed man is king
Even someone with limited abilities or opportunities is dominant over, and considered special by, those who have even fewer abilities and opportunities; the value of any ability depends on its commonness.
Translations
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
Arabic: الأعور في أرض العميان ملك
Bengali: অন্ধের রাজ্যে কানা লোকই রাজা ( ondher rajje kana lōkoi raja )
Catalan: al pais del cecs, el tort és el rei
Chinese:
Mandarin: 蜀中無大將,廖化作先鋒 / 蜀中无大将,廖化作先锋 ( Shǔ zhōng wú dàjiàng, Liào Huà zuò xiānfēng ) , 蜀中无大将,廖化作先锋 ( shǔ zhōng wù dà jiàng,liào huà zuò xiān fēng )
Czech: mezi slepými je jednooký králem
Danish: i de blindes land er den enøjede mand konge
Dutch: in het land der blinden is éénoog koning
Esperanto: inter blinduloj, reĝas strabuloj
Finnish: sokeiden maassa yksisilmäinen on kuningas
French: au royaume des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois (fr)
German: unter den Blinden ist der Einäugige König (de)
Greek: στη χώρα των τυφλών, ο μονόφθαλμος είναι βασιλιάς ( sti chóra ton tyflón, o monófthalmos eínai vasiliás ) , στους τυφλούς, βασιλεύει ο μονόφθαλμος ( stous tyfloús, vasilévei o monófthalmos )
Hebrew: בממלכת העיוורים שתום העין הוא מלך
Hindi: अंधों में काना राजा ( andhõ mẽ kānā rājā )
Hungarian: vakok között félszemű a király
Indonesian: di negeri orang buta, seorang bermata satu adalah raja , di tanah orang buta, seorang bermata satu adalah raja
Italian: nella terra dei ciechi beato chi ha un occhio
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Japanese: 鳥無き里の蝙蝠 (ja) ( とりなきさとのこうもり, torinaki sato no kōmori ) , 片目でも盲目国では王様 ( かためでももうもくくにではおうさま, katame de mo mōmoku kuni de wa ōsama )
Korean: 무호동중이작호 (無虎洞中狸作虎) ( muhodongjung'ijakho ) , 눈 먼 자들의 나라에서는 애꾸눈이 왕이다. ( nun meon jadeurui nara'eseoneun aekkununi wang'ida. )
Latin: in regione caecorum rex est luscus
Norwegian: i de blindes land er den énøyde konge
Polish: w kraju ślepców jednooki jest królem n
Portuguese: na terra dos cegos quem tem um olho é rei
Romanian: în țara orbilor și chiorul e împărat
Russian: в стране слепых одноглазый — коро́ль ( v strane slepyx odnoglazyj — korólʹ )
Sanskrit: अन्धानाम् नराम् भूमौ, एकचक्षुस् वीरः राट् अस्ति ( andhā́nām narā́m bhū́mau, ékacakṣus vīráḥ rā́ṭ ásti )
Serbo-Croatian: у земљи слепих, ћорави су краљеви
Spanish: en el reino de los ciegos, el tuerto es el rey (es)
Swedish: i de blindas land är den enögde kung
Thai: ในดินแดนของคนตาบอด คนที่มีตาข้างเดียวคือราชา
Turkish: körler ülkesinde tek gözü olan kral olur
Ukrainian: в країні сліпих одноокий — король ( v krajini slipyx odnookyj — korolʹ )
Urdu: اندھوں میں کانا راجا
Vietnamese: thằng chột làm vua xứ mù
Further reading