Looking for a proverb

Hi everyone,

I need your collective wisdom.
Here’s the thing: My dad likes to use proverbs.
Since he grew up in Kazakhstan in a predominantly Russian-speaking environment and is hardly familiar with German proverbs, he tries to translate them from Russian into German—but he’s not very good at it :-). I suggested he write down the proverbs he uses often so I can give him the German equivalents, and he can memorize and use them. Now he’s given me a task I can’t seem to solve: It’s often the case that small, petite people are thought to be younger than they really are. There’s a Russian proverb for this:

“A small dog always remains a puppy.”

But that’s just a translation. I don’t know of an equivalent in German.
Do you, perhaps?

Best regards, Inna

Hi Inna, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, but I can’t think of a comparable idiom, let alone a proverb.
In German small talk, there’s only the saying: “You haven’t changed a bit.”

Hi Petra, I think that saying is used more as a playful explanation for why someone doesn’t seem to age, but I’m afraid there really isn’t a suitable equivalent in German. But maybe someone else will come up with something.

Dear Inna,

I just asked Google, but I couldn’t find anything either.

Only one thing comes to mind:
Small but mighty

Maybe that helps you. Otherwise, that translation is certainly a new idea in German. ;-)

Best wishes, Monika

Thanks, Monika—I looked for that too and couldn’t find anything.
So I guess that’s how it’ll stay :-).

Generally speaking, you could perhaps try something like, “First impressions are decisive, or they often stick and shape how someone is perceived going forward.”
That doesn’t apply only to short people, though.

Pigeonholing = putting people into mental categories. That isn’t always particularly advantageous, but it makes everyday life easier because you don’t always have to question everything.

But still, that doesn’t quite 100% capture what you need or are looking for.

No, that’s something else.

But I don’t think my translation is correct—I think it’s supposed to

be “A small dog always remains a puppy.”

Dear Inna,
ah, yes, I know that one too... but I also use it as a translation. I sent you something in a private message.
Warmest regards,
Irina