- Ad meliora (Latin)
Pronunciation: Ad meh-lee-oh-rah
Meaning: Toward better things - Audentis fortuna iuvat (Latin)
Pronunciation: Ow-den-tis for-too-na yoo-vaht
Meaning: Fortune favors the courageous - Vincit qui se vincit (Latin)
Pronunciation: Vin-kit kwee seh vin-kit
Meaning: He conquers who conquers himself - Per aspera ad astra (Latin)
Pronunciation: Per as-peh-rah ad as-tra
Meaning: Through hardships to the stars - Exegi monumentum aere perennius (Latin)
Pronunciation: Ex-eh-jee moh-new-men-tum ai-reh peh-ren-ni-us
Meaning: I have built a monument more lasting than bronze - Amor vincit omnia (Latin)
Pronunciation: Ah-mor vin-kit om-nee-ah
Meaning: Love conquers all - Non ducor, duco (Latin)
Pronunciation: Non doo-kor, doo-koh
Meaning: I am not led; I lead - Acta, non verba (Latin)
Pronunciation: Ak-tah, non ver-bah
Meaning: Actions, not words - Lo que no te mata, te hace más fuerte (Spanish)
Pronunciation: Loh keh no te mah-tah, te ah-seh mahs fwer-teh
Meaning: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger - Il faut battre le fer pendant qu’il est chaud (French)
Pronunciation: Il foh bat-truh luh fehr pon-dahn keel eh shoh
Meaning: Strike while the iron is hot - Ohne Moos nix los (German)
Pronunciation: Oh-neh mohs niks los
Meaning: Without money, nothing works - Non mollare mai (Italian)
Pronunciation: Non mol-lah-reh my
Meaning: Never give up - Quem tem boca vai a Roma (Portuguese)
Pronunciation: Kem tem boh-kah vai ah roh-mah
Meaning: Speak up and the way will open - Waar een wil is, is een weg (Dutch)
Pronunciation: Waar ayn vil is, is ayn vayg
Meaning: Where there’s a will, there’s a way - Borta bra men hemma bäst (Swedish)
Pronunciation: Bor-tah bra men hem-mah bast
Meaning: There’s no place like home - Den som väntar på något gott, väntar aldrig för länge (Swedish)
Pronunciation: Den som ven-tar po nohg-at gott, ven-tar al-drig för läng-eh
Meaning: Good things come to those who wait - Tiden leger alle sår (Norwegian)
Pronunciation: Tee-den lay-ger al-le sower
Meaning: Time heals all wounds - Ingen regel uten unntak (Norwegian)
Pronunciation: In-gen reh-gel oo-ten oon-tak
Meaning: There are no rules without exceptions - Lykken er at have noget at se frem til (Danish)
Pronunciation: Lück-en er at ha-veh no-get at seh frem til
Meaning: Happiness is having something to look forward to - Når enden er god, er alting godt (Danish)
Pronunciation: Nor en-den er got, er al-ting got
Meaning: All’s well that ends well - Hiljaa hyvä tulee (Finnish)
Pronunciation: Hil-yah hoo-va tu-leh
Meaning: Good things come to those who wait quietly - Aika on rahaa (Finnish)
Pronunciation: Eye-kah on rah-hah
Meaning: Time is money - Ei savua ilman tulta (Finnish)
Pronunciation: Ay sah-voo-ah il-man tool-tah
Meaning: There’s no smoke without fire - Lífið er fallegt (Icelandic)
Pronunciation: Lee-vid er fal-lekt
Meaning: Life is beautiful - Bättre en fågel i handen än tio i skogen (Swedish)
Pronunciation: Bet-treh en faa-gel i han-den en tee-o i shoh-gen
Meaning: A bird in the hand is worth more than ten in the bush - Ingen kan göra allt, men alla kan göra något (Swedish)
Pronunciation: In-gen kan yeh-ra alt, men al-la kan yeh-ra noh-tot
Meaning: Not everyone can do everything, but everyone can do something - Livet er en reise, ikke en destinasjon (Norwegian)
Pronunciation: Lee-vet er en rye-se, ik-ke en des-ti-na-syon
Meaning: Life is a journey, not a destination - Γνώθι σεαυτόν (Greek)
Pronunciation: Gnoh-thee se-afton
Meaning: Know thyself - Век живи — век учись (Russian)
Pronunciation: Vek zhe-vee — vek oo-chis
Meaning: Live and learn - Kto nie ryzykuje, ten nie zyskuje (Polish)
Pronunciation: Kto nyeh ri-zy-koo-ye, ten nyeh zish-koo-ye
Meaning: He who does not risk, does not win - Bez práce nejsou koláče (Czech)
Pronunciation: Bez prah-tseh ney-soo ko-la-cheh
Meaning: Without work, there is no reward - Aki mer, az nyer (Hungarian)
Pronunciation: Ah-kee mer, az nyer
Meaning: The one who dares, wins - Cine se scoală de dimineață, departe ajunge (Romanian)
Pronunciation: Chee-neh seh sko-ah-lah de di-mee-nee-ahtsah, deh-par-teh ah-jun-jeh
Meaning: The early bird gets far - Който не рискува, не пие шампанско (Bulgarian)
Pronunciation: Koy-to ne risk-va, ne pee sham-pan-sko
Meaning: If you don’t take a risk, you won’t enjoy the rewards
The diverse expressions of wisdom found in these mottos go beyond mere words—they encapsulate values and attitudes that have shaped cultures and ways of life. With this collection of European and Nordic quotes, may you find new perspectives and the courage to enrich your daily journey. Now is the time to embrace these words as your personal guiding principles.
Reference：
Comment