What's the best way to say "don't reinvent the wheel"?

Question

In this answer on SOpt, I mentioned "não reiventar a roda"-- in an attempt to say, "don't reinvent the wheel". Is this the right "translation" for this idiom? The idiom, for better or worse, means:

Do not make/create/invent something from scratch that has already been made/created/invented -- use what is already there!

score 8 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 18 '20 at 08:34

8

The expression "reinventar a roda" is in fact the correct translation for "reinvent the wheel", and is of common usage at least in Brazil. This Wikipedia article (in Portuguese) have more information about this expression.

Note however that when using in the imperative form, you should use "reinvente" instead of "reinventar". Examples:

Não reinvente a roda!

Em geral, não é bom reinventar a roda.

Your usage in that SOpt answer is correct in this regard BTW, although I'd use "não tente reinventar a roda" (implicit "você") or "não tentes reinventar a roda" (implicit "tu").

edited Jun 18 '20 at 08:34

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answered Sep 14 '15 at 05:56

mgibsonbr

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Also this: "...ou seja não tente criar tudo do zero, mas sim, use um framework que já resolveu todos esses problemas." – Math Sep 14 '15 at 11:53
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Também usamos em Portugal. – Jorge B. Sep 14 '15 at 14:53
Obrigado pela ajuda! – brazilianldsjaguar Sep 14 '15 at 15:18

What's the best way to say "don't reinvent the wheel"?

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