don't look a gift horse in the mouth

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don't look a gift horse in the mouth

Where it comes from

Calque from Latin expressions such as equi dentes inspicere donati (“to inspect the teeth of a provided horse”) in St. Jerome's c. 400 Preface to the Commentaries of the Letter to the Ephesians (Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Ephesios Libri Tres), which designates it as a "common proverb" (vulgare proverbium). The ultimate referrent is inspection of horses' teeth as a way of ascertaining their age and value.

proverb never look a gift horse in the mouth

One should not unappreciatively question or inspect a gift too closely. No man ought to looke a geuen hors in the mouth.
Similar: beggars can't be choosers, something is better than nothing, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Translations

Every language

proverb a phrase referring to unappreciatively questioning of a gift or handout too closely

Español	a caballo regalado no se le miran los dientes, a caballo regalado no le mires el diente, a caballo regalado, no le mires el dentado, a caballo regalado, no le mires el diente, a caballo regalado, no se le ve el colmillo, a caballo regalado no se le mira el diente
한국어	남의 호의를 트집 잡지 마라 nam-ui houi-reul teujip japji mara
中文	不要對禮物吹毛求疵 /不要对礼物吹毛求疵 bùyào duì lǐwù chuīmáoqiúcī, 不要對禮物挑三揀四 /不要对礼物挑三拣四 bùyào duì lǐwù tiāosānjiǎnsì
Português	a cavalo dado não se olha os dentes, a cavalo dado não se olha o dente
Français	à cheval donné, on ne regarde pas la bouche, à cheval donné on ne regarde pas les dents, à cheval donné on ne regarde pas la bride, à cheval donné on ne regarde pas la denture
Deutsch	einem geschenkten Gaul schaut man nicht ins Maul, einem geschenkten Gaul sieht man nicht ins Maul, einem geschenkten Gaul guckt man nicht ins Maul
Italiano	a caval donato non si guarda in bocca
Ελληνικά	του χαρίζανε γάιδαρο και τον κοίταζε στα δόντια tou charízane gáidaro kai ton koítaze sta dóntia
Română	calul de dar nu se caută la dinți, calul de dar nu se caută în gură
Русский	дарёному коню́ в зу́бы не смо́трят darjónomu konjú v zúby ne smótrjat
Tiếng Việt	có còn hơn không

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MLA

"don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/don't%20look%20a%20gift%20horse%20in%20the%20mouth. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

don't look a gift horse in the mouth. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/don't%20look%20a%20gift%20horse%20in%20the%20mouth

Chicago

"don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/don't%20look%20a%20gift%20horse%20in%20the%20mouth.

BibTeX

@misc{don_t_look_a_gift_horse_in_the_mouth_2026,
  title = {don't look a gift horse in the mouth},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/don't%20look%20a%20gift%20horse%20in%20the%20mouth},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}