An adage is a short, well-known sentence that people repeat because it seems to tell a truth about how life goes. Think of lines like “Better safe than sorry” or “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” English also has saying, proverb, and maxim; they sit in the same neighbourhood.

An adage is a short, well-known sentence that people repeat because it seems to tell a truth about how life goesadage是一句簡短、大家都知道的話，人們會一直重複講，因為它好像講出了人生的某個道理。Think of lines like "Better safe than sorry" or "Where there's a will, there's a way."想想像"Better safe than sorry"小心不吃虧，或"Where there's a will, there's a way."有志者事竟成這樣的句子。English also has saying, proverb, and maxim英文裡還有saying、proverb和maxim，they sit in the same neighbourhood它們都是同一掛的。

Adage sounds a little more like a book than “saying,” so you meet it more in writing than in chat. It is not a long story, and it is not an idiom with a hidden picture (like “kick the bucket”). It is the kind of line a grandparent might nod at.

Adage sounds a little more like a book than "saying,"adage聽起來比"saying"更書面一點，so you meet it more in writing than in chat所以比較常在文章裡遇到，聊天時比較少用。It is not a long story它不是一個長篇故事，and it is not an idiom with a hidden picture也不是那種藏著畫面的成語（like "kick the bucket"像"kick the bucket"翹辮子那樣）。It is the kind of line a grandparent might nod at它是那種阿公阿嬤聽了會點頭的話。

Though actually, people sometimes pin the word on any catchy sentence, even a new one, or one that is only half-wise. The tidy dictionary wants “old and wise”; real speakers stretch it.

Though actually不過老實說，people sometimes pin the word on any catchy sentence人們有時候會把這個字隨便套在任何順口的句子上，even a new one就算是新出現的句子也一樣，or one that is only half-wise或只有一半道理的句子也一樣。The tidy dictionary wants "old and wise"字典整整齊齊地要求「古老又有智慧」，real speakers stretch it但實際說話的人會把它用得更寬。

One more messy truth: it is not the music word adagio, even though the letters look friendly. This adage came into English from French, from Latin adagium, already meaning a saying.

One more messy truth還有一個沒那麼整齊的事實：it is not the music word adagio它不是音樂用語adagio（柔板），even though the letters look friendly雖然拼法看起來很像。This adage came into English from Frenchadage這個字是從法文進入英文的，from Latin adagium而法文又是從拉丁文adagium來的，already meaning a saying拉丁文裡本來就是「一句話」的意思。