Qui festinat, saepius errat.

to hurry

Breakdown of Qui festinat, saepius errat.

• qui: whoever
• saepius: more often
• errare: to make mistakes

Questions & Answers about Qui festinat, saepius errat.

What does qui mean here?

Here qui is a relative pronoun, but in this kind of sentence it works almost like the person who, whoever, or anyone who.

So qui festinat means:

• the one who hurries
• whoever hurries
• anyone who is in a hurry

This is a very common Latin way to make a general statement.

Why is qui masculine singular if the sentence is talking about people in general?

Latin often uses the masculine singular as a generic form when speaking generally.

So qui festinat does not have to mean only a man who hurries. It can mean a person who hurries in general.

If Latin wanted to refer specifically to a woman, it could use quae. If it wanted a plural idea, it could use qui festinant for those who hurry.

Why are festinat and errat both singular, and where is the subject?

The subject is built into the verb endings.

In Latin:

• festinat = he/she/it hurries
• errat = he/she/it errs / makes mistakes

The ending -t tells you the verb is third person singular.