lɪv ænd lɜːrn
General
informal
beginner
- Literally:
- To exist and acquire knowledge
What does "live and learn" mean?
- To gain knowledge through experience, including mistakes
- An expression accepting that one has learned from an error
Examples
- I made a mistake, but live and learn.
- Well, live and learn—I won't do that again.
- That investment didn't work out, but live and learn.
Origin
A simple proverb acknowledging that life teaches lessons, sometimes through failure. Dating back to at least the 17th century.
How to use it
Philosophical acceptance of mistakes. Often said after realizing an error.
Similar expressions
learn from mistakes
experience is the best teacher
Opposites
repeat mistakes
never learn
Related idioms
- actions speak louder than words
What people do is more important than what they say
- better safe than sorry
It's better to be careful and prevent problems than to take risks
- so far so good
Things have gone well up to now
- easier said than done
Something is more difficult to do than to talk about
- make a long story short
To summarize or get to the point
- to make matters worse
In addition to existing problems
Use it in a practice answer
Try "live and learn" in a CELPIP-style Speaking or Writing task. The AI feedback tells you whether your word choice worked.