Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras

Expression: Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras

Pronunciation: [oo(n) tyeh(n) vo myeu keu deu tu lo rah]

Meaning: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Literal translation: one that you hold is better than two that you will have

Register: normal (proverb)

Notes: The French proverb un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras is a bit awkward, grammatically speaking. Tiens is the imperative of tenir (to hold) - it's what you say handing something to another person. But tiens is being used here as a noun, meaning "something that you're holding." If it helps, you can think of it as a contraction of a phrase like un que tu tiens, meaning "one that you hold."

The last few words of the proverb are equally tricky. Tu l'auras is what you might say to someone when borrowing or buying something: Tu l'auras mardi - "You'll have it (back) Tuesday / I'll gladly pay you Tuesday...." But, again, there is a number in front of this phrase, which means it's being used like a noun: deux tu l'auras - "two 'you will have's."

Though there are no quotation marks in the French proverb, it might help your comprehension to imagine them: un "tiens" vaut mieux que deux "tu l'auras" = one "here you go [now]" is worth two "you'll have it [later]"s.

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More

• French proverbs
• Expressions with avoir
• Expressions with mieux
• Expressions with tenir