a chain is only as strong as its weakest link

Etymology
First appeared in Thomas Reid’s “Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man,” published in 1786; the full idiom “a chain is no stronger than its weakest link” was first printed in Cornhill Magazine in 1868.

Akin to the Basque proverb “Haria meheenean eten ohi da”, “A thread usually breaks where it is thinnest”.

Proverb

 * 1) An organization is only as strong or powerful as its weakest person. A group of associates is only as strong as its laziest member.

Translations

 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:, 一步下錯，滿盤皆輸
 * Danish: en kæde kun så stærk som det svageste led
 * Dutch: de keten is zo sterk als haar zwakste schakel
 * Finnish: ketju on vain niin vahva kuin sen heikoin lenkki
 * German: eine Kette ist nur so stark wie ihr schwächstes Glied
 * Greek: μια αλυσίδα είναι όσο δυνατή όσο ο πιο αδύναμός της κρίκος
 * Hungarian: a leggyengébb láncszemnél szakad a lánc
 * Italian: una catena è forte quanto il suo anello più debole
 * Norwegian:
 * Bokmål: en kjede er aldri sterkere enn sitt svakeste ledd
 * Nynorsk: ei kjede er aldri sterkare enn det svakaste ledd
 * Portuguese: uma corrente é tão forte quanto seu elo mais fraco, uma corrente é tão forte quanto o seu elo mais fraco
 * Russian: где то́нко, там и рвётся it snaps there, where it's thin
 * Spanish: una cadena es tan fuerte como su eslabón más débil
 * Swedish: en kedja är aldrig starkare än dess svagaste länk