Word.ws English Dictionary

you can't step in the same river twice

you can't step in the same river twice proverb: it is not possible to repeat past experiences, as time changes all things.

Proverb

you can't step in the same river twice

  1. (idiomatic) It is not possible to repeat past experiences, as time changes all things.

Origin of you can't step in the same river twice

Direct translation from Heraclitus, as cited in Plato's Cratylus.

Questions about you can't step in the same river twice

What does you can't step in the same river twice mean?
You can't step in the same river twice means it is not possible to repeat past experiences, as time changes all things.
What part of speech is you can't step in the same river twice?
You can't step in the same river twice is a proverb.

Words near you can't step in the same river twice in the dictionary

  1. you can't put the shit back in the horse
  2. you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube
  3. you can't put the toothpaste back into the tube
  4. you can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
  5. you can't say fairer than that
  6. you can't step in the same river twice
  7. you can't take it with you
  8. you can't talk
  9. you can't teach an old dog new tricks
  10. you can't tell a book by its cover
  11. you can't turn a hoe into a housewife

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: you can't step in the same river twice (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.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-you can't step in the same river twice.ogg.

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