Meanings
proverb
- A happy ending makes up for everything that has happened before.
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
Often believed to be from the title of William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well. More likely attributed to John Heywood (c. 1497 – c. 1580), who wrote plays for the royal court from the early 1530s onwards, some sixty years before Shakespeare made his way in the Elizabethan theatre. Although his book of proverbs was the first to use this phrasing, it originates even further back. In 1381, in J. R. Lumby’s Chronicon Henrici Knighton, the line ‘If the ende be wele, than is alle wele.’ seems to be a more likely origin.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali সব ভাল তার শেষ ভাল যার
- সব ভাল তার শেষ ভাল যার (śobo bhal tar śeś bhal jar)A happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Catalan tot va bé si acaba bé
- tot va bé si acaba béA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Chinese Mandarin 結局好，樣樣好 /结局好, 样样好
- 結局好，樣樣好 /结局好A happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
- 样样好 (jiéjí hǎo, yàngyàng hǎo)A happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
- 皆大歡喜 /皆大欢喜 (jiēdàhuānxǐ)A happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Czech konec dobrý, všechno dobré, dobrý konec vše napraví
- konec dobrý, všechno dobréA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
- dobrý konec vše napravíA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Dutch eind goed, al goed
- eind goed, al goedA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Esperanto fino bona, ĉio bona
- fino bona, ĉio bonaA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Finnish loppu hyvin, kaikki hyvin
- loppu hyvin, kaikki hyvinA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
French tout est bien qui finit bien
- tout est bien qui finit bienA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
German Ende gut, alles gut
- Ende gut, alles gutA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Greek τέλος καλό, όλα καλά
- τέλος καλό, όλα καλά (télos kaló, óla kalá)A happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Hebrew סוֹף טוֹב הַכֹּל טוֹב
- סוֹף טוֹב הַכֹּל טוֹב (sof tov hakkól tov)A happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Hindi अंत भला तो सब भला
- अंत भला तो सब भला (ant bhalā to sab bhalā)A happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Hungarian minden jó, ha a vége jó
- minden jó, ha a vége jóA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Icelandic allt er gott sem endar vel
- allt er gott sem endar velA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Irish gach rud i gceart ach sinn a bheith slán
- gach rud i gceart ach sinn a bheith slánA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Italian tutto è bene quel che finisce bene, tutto è bene ciò che finisce bene
- tutto è bene quel che finisce beneA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
- tutto è bene ciò che finisce beneA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Japanese 終わり良ければすべて良し
- 終わり良ければすべて良し (owari yokereba subete yoshi)A happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Korean 끝이 좋으면 다 좋다
- 끝이 좋으면 다 좋다 (kkeuchi jo'eumyeon da jota)A happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Malay يڠ باءيق اخيرڽ باءيق جوݢ, yang baik akhirnya baik juga
- يڠ باءيق اخيرڽ باءيق جوݢA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
- yang baik akhirnya baik jugaA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Norwegian når enden er god er allting godt
- når enden er god er allting godtA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Polish wszystko dobre, co się dobrze kończy
- wszystko dobre, co się dobrze kończyA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Portuguese tudo fica bem quando acaba bem, tudo está bem quando termina bem
- tudo fica bem quando acaba bemA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
- tudo está bem quando termina bemA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
- bem está o que bem acabaA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Romanian totul e bine când se termină cu bine
- totul e bine când se termină cu bineA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Russian всё хорошо́, что хорошо́ конча́ется
- всё хорошо́, что хорошо́ конча́ется (vsjo xorošó, što xorošó končájetsja)A happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Scottish Gaelic 's fhearr deireadh math na droch thoiseach
- 's fhearr deireadh math na droch thoiseachA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Slovak koniec dobrý, všetko dobré, koniec všetko napraví
- koniec dobrý, všetko dobréA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
- koniec všetko napravíA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Spanish bien está lo que bien acaba, a buen fin no hay mal tiempo
- bien está lo que bien acabaA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
- a buen fin no hay mal tiempoA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
- a buen fin no hay mal principioA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Swedish slutet gott, allting gott
- slutet gott, allting gottA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Turkish sonu iyi biterse
- sonu iyi biterseA happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Ukrainian все добре, що добре закінчується
- все добре, що добре закінчується (vse dobre, ščo dobre zakinčujetʹsja)A happy ending makes up for everything that has gone before...
Cite this entry
APA
all's well that ends well. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all's%20well%20that%20ends%20well
MLA
“all's well that ends well.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all's%20well%20that%20ends%20well. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “all's well that ends well,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all's%20well%20that%20ends%20well.
Source: all's well that ends well on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.