man proposes, heaven disposes
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Humans make plans, but fate decides the outcome
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Con người lập kế hoạch, nhưng số phận quyết định kết quả
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: God or a higher power intervenes in human affairs
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “man proposes, heaven disposes” mean?
Humans make plans, but fate decides the outcome Literally: God or a higher power intervenes in human affairs
Is “man proposes, heaven disposes” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.