a bad workman always blames his tools

English

Alternative forms

Proverb

a bad workman always blames his tools

It is not the tools we use that make us good, but rather how we employ them.
Upon failure, it is easier to blame the tools used rather than how they were employed.

Translations

not the tools but how they're employed

Chinese:
Mandarin: 一個差的工人總是指責他的工具／一个差的工人总是指责他的工具 (yīgè chà de gōngrén zǒngshì zhǐzé tā de gōngjù)
Dutch: een kwaad werkman heeft altijd slecht getuig
Finnish: kyllä sika syitä löytää, välillä on maa jäässä, välillä kärsä kipeä
French: à méchant ouvrier, point de bon outil (fr), un mauvais ouvrier a toujours de mauvais outils (fr)
German: wenn der Reiter nichts taugt, hat das Pferd Schuld (if the rider is no good, it's the horse's fault), ein schlechter Handwerker schimpft immer auf sein Werkzeug
Hindi: नाच न जाने आँगन टेढ़ा (nāc na jāne āṅgan ṭeṛhā)
Icelandic: árinni kennir illur ræðari (is) (a bad rower blames his oar)
Japanese: 弘法筆を選ばず (ja) (kōbō fude o erabazu)
Korean: 나쁜 일꾼은 제 공구를 탓한다 (nappeun ilkkuneun je gonggureul tathanda)
Malay:
Jawi: تق تاهو مناري دکاتاکن لنتاي جوڠکڠ-جوڠکيت‎, تق تاهو مناري دکاتاکن تانه تيڠݢي رنده‎, تق تاهو مڠاڽم ڤندن دسالهکن‎

Rumi: tak tahu menari dikatakan lantai jongkang-jongket, tak tahu menari dikatakan tanah tinggi rendah, tak tahu menganyam pandan disalahkan
Marathi: नाचता येइना अंगण वाकडे (nāctā yeinā aṅgaṇ vākḍe)
Persian:
Dari: پهلوان که باخت میگه نیرو من تنگ بود‎
Polish: złej baletnicy przeszkadza rąbek spódnicy (pl)
Russian: плохо́му танцо́ру и я́йца меша́ют (ru) (ploxómu tancóru i jájca mešájut) (bad dancer is impeded even by (his own) balls), не́ча на зе́ркало пеня́ть, ко́ли ро́жа крива́ (néča na zérkalo penjátʹ, kóli róža krivá) (don't blame the mirror if your mug is skewed), ма́стер глуп — нож туп (máster glup — nož tup) (if the worker is stupid, his knife is blunt)
Scottish Gaelic: cha d'fhuair droch-bhuannaiche a-riamh deagh-chorran, cha d'fhuair droch-ràmhaich ràmh math a-riamh
Thai: รำไม่ดีโทษปี่โทษกลอง (th) (ram-mâi-dii-tôot-bpìi-tôot-glɔɔng)
Urdu: ناچ نہ جانے آنگن ٹیڑھا‎ (ur) (nāc na jāne ā̃gan ṭeṛhā)

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