you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

English

Proverb

you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

If you do me a favor then I will do you a favor; quid pro quo.
- 1974, “Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out)”, in John Lennon (lyrics), Walls and Bridges, performed by John Lennon:
  Everybody's hustling for a buck and a dime / I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine

Translations

if you do me a favor then I will do you a favor

Chinese:
Mandarin: 互惠互利, 滴水之恩，当涌泉相报
Finnish: vuoroin vieraissa käydään
French: on ne donne rien pour rien (fr), on n’a rien pour rien (fr), donnant donnant (fr)
Galician: hoxe por min, mañá por ti
German: eine Hand wäscht die andere (de) (literally “one hand washes the other”); von nichts kommt nichts (literally “nothing comes from nothing”)
Hebrew: שמור לי ואשמור לך‎, יד רוחצת יד‎, טובה תחת טובה‎ (he)
Hungarian: kéz kezet mos (hu), valamit valamiért
Italian: una mano lava l'altra (literally “one hand washes the other”)
Japanese: 魚心あれば水心あり (ja) (うおごころ-あれば-みずごころ-あり uo'gokoro-areba-mizu'gokoro-ari)
Norwegian: du klør meg på ryggen, og jeg klør deg på ryggen, du klør min rygg, og jeg klør din
Polish: ręka rękę myje (pl), przysługa za przysługę
Portuguese: uma mão lava a outra
Romanian: o mână spală pe alta (literally “one hand washes another”), serviciu contra serviciu (literally “favor for favor”)
Russian: ты — мне, я — тебе́ (ty — mne, ja — tebé, literally “you (give something) to me, I (give something) to you”), рука́ ру́ку мо́ет (ru) (ruká rúku mójet, literally “one hand washes another”), услу́га за услу́гу (uslúga za uslúgu)
Scottish Gaelic: am fear a thèid san droigheann dhomh, thèid mi san dris dha (literally “the man who goes into the thorny bush for me, I'll go into the thorny bush for him”)
Slovak: ruka ruku myje
Spanish: hoy por ti, mañana por mí, favor con favor se paga
Swahili: mwosha huoshwa
Swedish: tjänster och gentjänster
Thai: ยื่นหมูยื่นแมว (yêun mŏo yêun maew)

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