Meanings
proverb
- The consequences of one's actions to oneself are in proportion to one's good or bad intentions towards others.
Near-synonyms: as you make your bed, so you must lie in it; (archaic) as you have brewed, so you must drink
Synonyms: every man is the architect of his own fortune, sow the wind, reap the whirlwind, what goes around comes around, as you make your bed, so you must lie in it, as you have brewed, so you must drink
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbThe consequences of one's actions to oneself are in proportion to one's good or bad intentions towards others.
Origin
From Galatians 6:7 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Compare Hosea 8:7, “For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.”
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans boontjie kry sy loontjie
- boontjie kry sy loontjieconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Ancient Greek ὃ γὰρ ἐὰν σπείρῃ ἄνθρωπος, τοῦτο καὶ θερίσει
- ὃ γὰρ ἐὰν σπείρῃ ἄνθρωπος, τοῦτο καὶ θερίσει (hò gàr eàn speírēi ánthrōpos, toûto kaì therísei)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Arabic كَمَا تَدِينَ تُدَانُ
- كَمَا تَدِينَ تُدَانُconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Bulgarian какво́то посе́еш, това́ ще пожъ́неш
- какво́то посе́еш, това́ ще пожъ́неш (kakvóto poséeš, tová šte požắneš)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Catalan tal faràs, tal trobaràs
- tal faràs, tal trobaràsconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Chinese Mandarin 出乎爾者、反乎爾者也 /出乎尔者、反乎尔者也, 出乎尔者、反乎尔者
- 出乎爾者、反乎爾者也 /出乎尔者、反乎尔者也consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- 出乎尔者、反乎尔者 (chūhūěrzhě, fǎnhūěrzhěyě)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- 種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆 /种瓜得瓜consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- 种豆得豆 (zhòngguādéguā, zhǒngdòudédòu)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- 種瓜得瓜 /种瓜得瓜 (zhòngguādéguā)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- 種豆得豆 /种豆得豆 (zhǒngdòudédòu)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Danish man ligger som man reder
- man ligger som man rederconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Dutch wat je zaait zul je oogsten
- wat je zaait zul je oogstenconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Finnish sitä niittää mitä kylvää, mitä kylvää, sitä niittää
- sitä niittää mitä kylvääconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- mitä kylvää, sitä niittääconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
French on récolte ce que l'on sème
- on récolte ce que l'on sèmeconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
German man erntet, was man sät
- man erntet, was man sätconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Greek όπως στρώσεις, θα κοιμηθείς
- όπως στρώσεις, θα κοιμηθείς (ópos stróseis, tha koimitheís)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Hindi जैसी करनी वैसी भरनी
- जैसी करनी वैसी भरनी (jaisī karnī vaisī bharnī)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Hungarian ki mint vet, úgy arat
- ki mint vet, úgy aratconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Indonesian ada ubi ada talas, ada budi ada balas
- ada ubi ada talas, ada budi ada balasconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Italian raccogli quello che semini, si raccoglie ciò che si semina
- raccogli quello che seminiconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- si raccoglie ciò che si seminaconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Japanese 蒔いた種は刈らねばならない, 爾に出ずる者は、爾に反える
- 蒔いた種は刈らねばならない (maita tane wa karaneba naranai)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- 爾に出ずる者は、爾に反える (nanji ni izuru mono wa, nanji ni kaeru)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Korean 콩 심은 데 콩 나고 팥 심은 데 팥 난다
- 콩 심은 데 콩 나고 팥 심은 데 팥 난다 (kong simeun de kong nago pat simeun de pat nanda)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Lithuanian ką pasėsi tą ir pjausi
- ką pasėsi tą ir pjausiconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Persian کسی که خربزه میخورد، پای لرزش هم مینشیند
- کسی که خربزه میخورد، پای لرزش هم مینشیندconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Polish kto sieje wiatr, zbiera burzę, nawarzyłeś piwa, to musisz je teraz wypić
- kto sieje wiatr, zbiera burzęconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- nawarzyłeś piwa, to musisz je teraz wypićconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Portuguese você colhe o que planta
- você colhe o que plantaconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Romanian ce semeni, aia culegi, culegi ceea ce semeni
- ce semeni, aia culegiconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- culegi ceea ce semeniconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Russian как ау́кнется, так и откли́кнется, как посе́ешь, так и пожнёшь
- как ау́кнется, так и откли́кнется (kak aúknetsja, tak i otklíknetsja)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- как посе́ешь, так и пожнёшь (kak poséješʹ, tak i požnjóšʹ)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- кто се́ет ветер, пожнёт бу́рю (kto séjet veter, požnjót búrju)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- что посе́ешь, то и пожнёшь (što poséješʹ, to i požnjóšʹ)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Scottish Gaelic an nì a chuireas duine is e a bhuaineas e
- an nì a chuireas duine is e a bhuaineas econsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Spanish lo que siembras, cosechas
- lo que siembras, cosechasconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Swahili aamiaye kunde ndiye mla kunde
- aamiaye kunde ndiye mla kundeconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Swedish som man bäddar får man ligga, som man sår får man skörda
- som man bäddar får man liggaconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- som man sår får man skördaconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- man skördar det man sårconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Tamil வினை விதைத்தவன் வினை அறுப்பான்
- வினை விதைத்தவன் வினை அறுப்பான் (viṉai vitaittavaṉ viṉai aṟuppāṉ)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Turkish ne ekersen onu biçersin
- ne ekersen onu biçersinconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Ukrainian що посі́єш, те й пожне́ш
- що посі́єш, те й пожне́ш (ščo posíješ, te j požnéš)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Urdu جیسے کرنی ویسے بھرنی
- جیسے کرنی ویسے بھرنی (jaise karnī vaise bharnī)consequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Vietnamese gieo nhân nào gặt quả nấy, gieo gió, gặt bão
- gieo nhân nào gặt quả nấyconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- gieo gió, gặt bãoconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
- gieo nhân nào, gặt quả ấyconsequences of one’s actions to oneself are in proportion to one‘s good or bad intentions towards others — see also sow the wind, reap the whirlwind
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with as you sow, so shall you reap
keepdeepsleepsheepleapasleepsweepsteepreapbeeppeepweepcheepbleepSandeepseepeepmeepneapSundeepgeepsneapoversleepaheap
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
as you sow, so shall you reap. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20you%20sow%2C%20so%20shall%20you%20reap
MLA
“as you sow, so shall you reap.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20you%20sow%2C%20so%20shall%20you%20reap. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “as you sow, so shall you reap,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20you%20sow%2C%20so%20shall%20you%20reap.
Source: as you sow, so shall you reap on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.