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quien no llora, no mama

Spanish, proverb/ˌkjen ˌno ˌʝoɾa | ˌno ˈmama/

quien no llora, no mama is a Spanish proverb meaning “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “A veces es necesario pedir e insistir con ahínco para obtener lo que se desea”.

What does quien no llora, no mama mean in English?

proverb

  1. 1

    the squeaky wheel gets the grease

Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How Spanish dictionaries define it

proverb: 1. A veces es necesario pedir e insistir con ahínco para obtener lo que se desea.

The definition in the Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), in Spanish.

Source: Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.

How do you pronounce quien no llora, no mama?

  • /ˌkjen ˌno ˌʝoɾa | ˌno ˈmama/
  • [ˌkjẽn ˌno ˌʝo.ɾa | ˌno ˈma.ma]
  • [kjẽn ˈno ˈʝoɾa ˈno ˈmama]

Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.