https://www.proz.com/kudoz/english-to-spanish/idioms-maxims-sayings/6728257-sometimes-it%E2%80%99s-the-little-things-that-affect-big-things.html

Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

Sometimes it’s the little things that affect big things.

Spanish translation:

a veces las grandes cosas dependen de las pequeñas

Added to glossary by DidiFlack (X)
Nov 5, 2019 22:39
4 yrs ago
5 viewers *
English term

Sometimes it’s the little things that affect big things.

English to Spanish Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings Sayings
Hello,

How would you translate this expression: "Sometimes it’s the little things that affect big things".
This is how I translated:

"A veces son las pequeñas cosas las que afectan las grandes cosas".

Thank you!

Proposed translations

+1
10 hrs
Selected

a veces las grandes cosas dependen de las pequeñas

Me parece que tiene más fuerza y queda más fluido si le damos la vuelta a la frase.

También: "a veces las cosas grandes dependen de las pequeñas"
Peer comment(s):

agree Víctor Zamorano
6 hrs
Gracias Víctor - Bea
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Gracias Beatriz!"
14 mins

a veces las minucias son importantes

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42 mins

A veces son las cosas pequeñas las que afectan a las cosas grandes

I am not sure if this is an accurate translation, but the phrase sounds more natural in Spanish with the adjetives located after the nouns.
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+4
1 hr

A veces, las pequeñas acciones son las que cambian el mundo.

Hola:
Pues opino que depende un poco del contexto. En los dos ejemplos que incluyo a continuación, yo lo traduciría como “A veces, las pequeñas acciones son las que cambian el mundo/generan grandes resultados/generan grandes cambios”.

The Little Things Affect the Big Things
I always say, ’Don’t think one person can’t make a difference,’” says Kristie Disbrow, founder of Matthew’s Ministry, a non-profit organization that provides weekend food service to schoolchildren every week. “I think sometimes people see a really big problem and think, ‘I’m not getting involved. What could I do?’ The answer is, a lot. When you take a step of faith and get started, everything else falls into place.
https://www.wilsonart.com/case-study/little-things-affect-bi...

Little Things Affect Big Things: Diaper and Period Banks!
https://www.facebook.com/events/dekoven-house-community-cent...
Peer comment(s):

agree Mónica Algazi : Me gusta.
43 mins
Gracias, Mónica!
agree abe(L)solano : A mí también.
8 hrs
Gracias, abe(L)solano!
agree Anna Queralt
8 hrs
Gracias, Anna!
agree Juan Gil
10 hrs
Gracias, Juan!
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20 hrs

A veces, los pequeños detalles marcan la diferencia.

I agree with most of my colleagues here, since their sentences for make sense to me. However, this sentence is one I've seen, read and heard in many contexts with a shorter version of what Analía Quinlián proposes. That is the one I've written above. It might depend on where does the spanish speaker come from, but I strongly believe that in Spain this sentence has been mentioned more than once and has a strong message behind it, such as the original string.
The literal translation would be "Sometimes, it's the little things the ones that make a difference." This sentence can be also found in the English language, and would reflect the closest meaning of the sentence: a little change can scale up and become a very important change that, eventually, will make a difference and change big things on its way.
Thank you very much to all users for responding and collaborating to clarify this great motto.
Example sentence:

Sometimes, it's the little things that affect big things. So keep at it, and you will get there - "A veces, los pequeños detalles marcan la diferencia. Así que sigue adelante, y lo conseguirás."

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