in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king proverb: even someone with limited abilities or opportunities is dominant over, and considered special by, those who have even fewer abilities and opportunities; the value of any ability depends on its prevalence.

Proverb

in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

Even someone with limited abilities or opportunities is dominant over, and considered special by, those who have even fewer abilities and opportunities; the value of any ability depends on its prevalence.
- Their bread tastes like rock / Joining circles of the dead / As I am drinking all the sewage / Of the damage they call help / In the land of the blind / The one-eyed^([sic]) is a king / He plants in their empty pots / Ugly rotten seeds2025, “Rogue”, in Duél, performed by Jinjer

in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king in Hindi

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king: अंधों में काना राजा andhõ mẽ kānā rājā

in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king in Tamil

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king: புலி இல்லாத ஊரில் பூனை தான் இராஜா puli illāta ūril pūṉai tāṉ irājā

in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king in Urdu

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king: اندھوں میں کانا راجا andhõ mẽ kānā rājā

in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king in Bengali

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king: অন্ধের রাজ্যে কানা লোকই রাজা ondher rajje kana lōkoi raja

More languagesFewer languages

in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king in Telugu: గుడ్డిలో మెల్ల guḍḍilō mella, గుడ్డి కన్నా మెల్ల మేలు guḍḍi kannā mella mēlu
in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king in Arabic: الأعور في أرض العميان ملك al-ʔaʕwaru fī ʔarḍi l-ʕumyāni malikun
in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king in Thai: ในดินแดนของคนตาบอด คนที่มีตาข้างเดียวคือราชา
in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king in Vietnamese: thằng chột làm vua xứ mù

Forms of in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

alternative form	in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
alternative form	in the valley of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
alternative form	in the city of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
alternative form	in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

Origin of in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

Calque of Latin in regione caecorum rex est luscus, popularized by Desiderius Erasmus’ Adagia (1500). For further origin compare Aramaic בשוק סמייא צווחין לעווירא סגי נהור (literally “in the street of the blind, the one-eyed man is called the guiding light”), found in the Genesis Rabbah (4th or 5th century CE). This may be Erasmus’ direct source, but at least some traditional link between both forms seems likely.

Questions about in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

What does in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king mean?: In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king means even someone with limited abilities or opportunities is dominant over, and considered special by, those who have even fewer abilities and opportunities; the value of any ability depends on its prevalence.
What is in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king in Hindi?: In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king in Hindi is अंधों में काना राजा (andhõ mẽ kānā rājā). See In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king?: In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king is a proverb.

Words near in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.wav.

Cite this entry: “in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/in_the_land_of_the_blind%2C_the_one-eyed_man_is_king. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.