proverb · Words worth keeping
Lend your money. Lose your friend.
Lend your money. Lose your friend.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying follows lending money with losing a friend. It warns that a financial arrangement can strain a relationship.
Example
A reader distinguishes an agreed financial arrangement from assumptions about what friendship guarantees.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The short sequence makes the outcome sound inevitable. A responsible explanation can discuss expectations and possible tension without recommending a lending strategy or adopting the supplied probability claim. The phrase does not establish a particular debt, obligation or legal result.
When to use it
Use it to discuss possible strain with the outcome unpromised.
Keep in mind
No inevitable friendship loss, measured probability or financial and legal advice is established.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown