proverb🎓 English idiom
no pain, no gain
effort is needed to achieve results
What it means
Used to express the idea that real progress or reward requires hard work, effort, or even suffering. It is often heard in the context of exercise, study, or self-improvement.
Words like “no pain, no gain” are exactly the kind of vocabulary our English vocabulary size test measures — find out how many English words you know.
Examples
- My legs ache after training, but no pain, no gain, as the coach says.
- Learning a language takes daily practice; no pain, no gain.
- He reminded himself that no pain, no gain while revising late into the night.
- Building a business is exhausting, but no pain, no gain in the end.
Where it comes from
A proverb popularised by 1980s exercise culture, though the underlying idea appears much earlier, including in writings by Benjamin Franklin.
Related idioms
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