What does not kill me, makes me stronger

N

nooij

Member
Dutch - Netherlands
Hello!

The sentence that you see in the thread title is a famous quote by German philosoph Friedrich Nietzsche, whom originally said, in German, ,,Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker."

The quote, although often slightly modified into a 2nd person (usually singular) form, has been absorbed into many languages as a common expression said to cheer an injured person up. Or to let someone know you're alright when you're injured.

In Dutch, it has become "Wat mij niet doodt maakt mij sterker" in 1st person singular and "Wat je niet doodt maakt je sterker" in 2nd person singular.

I'd be interested to know if your language has adopted the sentence as well, and if it is used often. And of course what the sentence is in your language. ;)

Thanks in advance.
 
    • In Turkish I had heard:

    Seni öldürmeyen şey, seni daha güçlü kılar. (lit. The thing that does not kill you, renders you stronger.)

    It's not a common saying.
     
    I am not sure if it is related, but in Portuguese we have a similar "proverb":
    "O que não mata, engorda!" ("The thing that doesn't kill you, makes you fatter!").
     
    Fericire said:
    I am not sure if it is related, but in Portuguese we have a similar "proverb":
    "O que não mata, engorda!" ("The thing that doesn't kill you, makes you fatter!").
    Click to expand...

    That's interesting - I suppose that is a pun on the original quote? :)
     
    nooij said:
    That's interesting - I suppose that is a pun on the original quote? :)
    Click to expand...

    Maybe.
    I think it is because of some decades ago, which people used to think that the fattest kids were the most healthy ones, and "fat" and "health" were synonyms, pratically.

    So they used to give fat to them, making them get well-regarded.
    But I am not sure, I'm just supposing.

    "What does not kill me, makes me stronger", in Portuguese, would be:
    "O que não (me) mata, (me) faz ficar mais forte". But this is never said by anyone.
     
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    Czech:

    Co mě nezabije, to mě posílí. - What will not kill me, it will make me stronger.
    Co tě nezabije, to tě posílí. - What will not kill you, it will make you stronger.
    Co tě nezabije, to se tě pokusí zabít znovu. - What will not kill you, it will try to kill you again.
     
    Fericire said:
    "What does not kill me, makes me stronger", in Portuguese, would be:
    "O que não (me) mata, (me) faz ficar mais forte". But this is never said by anyone.
    Click to expand...
    It's not so common, but you do find it sometimes. Another variant would be O que não me mata torna-me mais forte. Usually in reference to Nietzsche's philosophy or similar ideas, not in the sense that Nooij described in his first post.
    Nietzsche's maxim has a somewhat positive connotation, while the Portuguese saying O que não mata engorda is usually pessimistic: good things either kill you or make you fat.
     
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    Russian: то, что нас не убивает, делает нас сильнее. Literally, "that what does not kill us, makes us stronger." The expression is very well known. As you can see, "I" has turned into "we" but it's rather a proverb, a life principle. We don't typically use it to cheer someone up or let others know someone's alright.
     
    Romanian: Ce nu te omoară, te face mai puternic.
    (lit. What does not kill you, makes you stronger and it's a fairly common saying).
     
    In French:
    "Ce qui ne me tue pas me rend plus fort."

    Commonly used, yes (at least I use it a lot & I don't speak German :D)
     
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    Macedonian:

    Тоа што не ме убива, ме прави посилен! (Tóa što ne me úbiva, me právi pósilen!) lit. "That what not kills me, makes me stronger!"

    Тоа што не те убива, те прави посилен! (Tóa što ne te úbiva, te právi pósilen!) lit. "That what not kills you, makes you stronger!"
     
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    Polish:
    Co nas nie zabije, to nas wzmocni. (= That what won't kill us, will make us stronger) though I think it's a relatively new expression in our language.
     
    Arabic: ما لا يقتلني يجعلني أقوى
     
    elroy said:
    Arabic: ما لا يقتلني يجعلني أقوى
    Click to expand...
    I’ve heard اللي بيكسرش ظهري بيقويني = what doesn’t break my back makes me stronger.

    I did a search in Google, it doesn’t seem to be common at all, and I don’t remember where I heard it. So it might be someone’s rewording of the saying.
     
    Serbian: Што те не убије, то те ојача. / Što te ne ubije, to te ojača. (What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!)
    It's quite common.
     
    Catalan:
    El que no em mata, em fa més fort.

    Fericire said:
    I am not sure if it is related, but in Portuguese we have a similar "proverb":
    "O que não mata, engorda!" ("The thing that doesn't kill you, makes you fatter!").
    Click to expand...
    The same proverb exists here: El que no mata, engreixa. But it's somewhat different, as it's mostly applied to food. :D
     
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