"No hay dos sin tres."
/noh eye DOHS seen TREHS/
All things come in threes.
💡 Understanding the Quote
"No hay dos sin tres."
🎨 Visual Representation
This proverb captures the common belief that events, especially misfortunes, tend to happen in threes.
🔑 Key Words
📖 Context
A traditional Spanish proverb (refrán) with origins in popular oral tradition. It has no single author or specific literary source.
📝 In Action
Primero se rompió el coche y luego perdí las llaves. Como se suele decir, no hay dos sin tres.
B2First the car broke down, and then I lost my keys. As they say, bad things come in threes.
El equipo ha ganado los dos últimos partidos. ¡A por el tercero, que no hay dos sin tres!
B2The team has won the last two games. Let's go for the third, since all good things come in threes!
✍️ About the Author
📜 Historical Context
This proverb is part of the 'refranero popular,' the vast collection of traditional Spanish sayings passed down orally through generations. Its origins are ancient, reflecting a time when people sought patterns in daily life to make sense of the world, often through a lens of superstition or folk wisdom.
🌍 Cultural Significance
This is one of the most common proverbs in the Spanish language, used across all social classes and regions. It reveals a cultural tendency to observe patterns and express a certain fatalism or expectation about how events unfold. Quoting a 'refrán' like this shows a deep connection to the culture.
📚 Literary Analysis
As a proverb, its power lies in its simplicity and rhythm. The structure 'No hay X sin Y' presents the idea as an undeniable truth or a law of nature. Its conciseness makes it incredibly memorable and easy to insert into conversation, carrying the weight of centuries of shared belief.
⭐ Usage Tips
For Good or Bad
While often used for negative events ('Bad things come in threes'), you can also use it optimistically for good things. The tone—whether of dread, hope, or humor—depends entirely on the context of the first two events.
Expressing Expectation
Use it when two similar things have happened, and you're expressing an expectation that a third is on its way. It’s a way of saying, 'I see a pattern forming here.'
🔗 Related Quotes
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: No hay dos sin tres.
Question 1 of 2
What is the primary meaning of 'No hay dos sin tres'?
🏷️ Categories
Themes:
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this proverb always pessimistic?
Not at all. While it's very commonly used for misfortunes, it can also be used humorously or optimistically for good events. If your favorite team wins twice in a row, you might say it to express hope for a third win. The context is key.
What's the difference between 'No hay dos sin tres' and 'A la tercera va la vencida'?
'No hay dos sin tres' is an observation about a pattern that seems to be happening on its own. 'A la tercera va la vencida' ('Third time's the charm') is about personal effort and expresses hope for success on the third attempt after two failures. One is about fate or patterns, the other is about persistence.