when in Rome, do as the Romans do

English

Alternative forms

when in Rome, do as the Romans (less common)
when in Rome, do like the Romans do (less common)

Etymology

First attested in Medieval Latin si fueris Rōmae, Rōmānō vīvitō mōre; si fueris alibī, vīvitō sīcut ibī (“if you should be in Rome, live in the Roman manner; if you should be elsewhere, live as they do there”); which is attributed to St Ambrose.

Proverb

when in Rome, do as the Romans do

Behave as those around do.
Conform to the larger society.
Respect the beliefs, customs and practices of a local culture.

Synonyms

when in Rome (ellipsis, more common)

Translations

behave as those around do

Arabic: عِنْدَمَا تَكُون فِي رُومَا، اِفْعَل مَا يَفْعَلَه الرُّومَان‎‎ (ʿindamā takūn fī rūmā, ifʿal mā yafʿalah ar-rūmān)
Armenian: որտեղ որ գնաս, այն երկրի գդակը ծածկիր (orteł or gnas, ayn erkri gdakə cackir), ում սելին նստես նրա հորովելը կանչիր (um selin nstes nra horovelə kančʿir)
Bulgarian: в Рим като́ ри́мляните (v Rim kató rímljanite)
Burmese: ရောမရောက်ရင် ရောမလို ကျင့်ရမယ် (rau:ma.rauk-rang rau:ma.lui kyang.ra.mai)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 入鄉隨俗 (zh), 入乡随俗 (zh) (rùxiāngsuísú), 入境隨俗 (zh), 入境随俗 (zh) (rùjìngsuísú)

Min Nan: 入鄉隨俗, 入乡随俗 (ji̍p-hiong-sûi-sio̍k)
Czech: jiný kraj, jiný mrav (the customs vary in different regions), kdo chce s vlky býti, musí s nimi výti
Danish: skik følge eller land fly, man må hyle med de ulve man er iblandt
Dutch: 's lands wijs, 's lands eer
Esperanto: alia lando, aliaj moroj, en Romio, agu kiel Romiano, kies gasto mi estas, ties feston mi festas, inter lupoj, kriu lupe
Faroese: sær er siður á landi
Finnish: maassa maan tavalla
French: autre pays, autre coutume, à Rome, fais comme les Romains (fr)
Georgian: სადაც წახვალ იქაური ქუდი დაიხურე (sadac c̣axval ikauri kudi daixure)
German: andere Länder, andere Sitten, mit den Wölfen heulen (de), (dated) wes Brot ich ess, des Lied ich sing (de), wenn du in Rom bist, verhalte dich wie die Römer
Hebrew: בְּרוֹמָא הִתְנַהֵג כְּרוֹמָאי‎‎ (b'róma hitnahég k'rómaí)
Hindi: जैसा देश वैसा भेष (jaisā deś vaisā bheṣ)
Hungarian: ha Rómában élsz, élj úgy, mint a rómaiak
Icelandic: sinn er siður í landi hverju (is)
Indonesian: di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung
Irish: fág an tír nó bí san fhaisean
Italian: paese che vai, usanze che trovi, a Roma, fai come i romani, quando a Roma vai, fai come vedrai, quando sei a Roma, vivi come i romani
Japanese: 郷に入っては郷に従え (ja) (ごうにいってはごうにしたがえ, gō ni itte wa gō ni shitagae), 郷に入りては郷に従え (ja) (ごうにいりてはごうにしたがえ, gō ni irite wa gō ni shitagae)

Kabyle: di Ṛṛuma, dder am iṛumaniyen; di tmura nniḍen dder am aken ttidiren
Korean: 입향순속 (iphyangsunsok), 入郷循俗 (입향순속, iphyangsunsok), 로마에 가면 로마법을 따르라 (roma-e gamyeon romabeobeul ttareura), 고을에 들어가면 고을 풍속을 따르라 (go-eure deureogamyeon go-eul pungsogeul ttareura)
Kurdish: li gorî derdor û adetên xwecihî tevgeriyan
Latin: si fueris Rōmae, Rōmānō vīvitō mōre; si fueris alibī, vīvitō sīcut ibī
Malay: di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung (literally: "hold up the sky of the land where you stand); masuk ke dalam kandang kambing mengembek, masuk ke dalam kandang kerbau menguak (literally: "bleat in the goat's pen, grunt in the buffalo's shed)
Maltese: meta tkun Ruma, agħmel bħal Rumani
Norwegian:
Bokmål: Når man er i Rom gjør man som romerne
Persian: خواهی نشوی رسوا همرنگ جماعت شو‎‎ (xâhi našvi rosvâ hamrang jamâ'at šav)
Polish: jeśli wejdziesz między wrony, musisz krakać jak i one (pl), w czyim chlebie smakujemy, tego i pochlebujemy, co kraj, to obyczaj
Portuguese: (Brazilian) quando em Roma, faça como os romanos, (European) em Roma sê romano
Romanian: la Roma, faci ca romanii
Russian: с волка́ми жить — по-во́лчьи выть (s volkámi žitʹ — po-vólčʹi vytʹ) (literally: “to live amongst wolves, you should howl like a wolf”), со свои́м уста́вом в чужо́й монасты́рь не хо́дят (so svoím ustávom v čužój monastýrʹ ne xódjat) (literally: “don’t go with your own rules to someone else’s monastery”)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: у друштву се и ка̀луђер жени

Roman: u društvu se i kàluđer ženi
Somali: meel Il laga la'yahay ishaa layska tuura
Spanish: allá donde fueres, haz lo que vieres, si entre burros te ves, rebuzna alguna vez, donde fueres haz lo que vieres, a donde fueres haz lo que vieres
Swedish: ta seden dit man kommer (sv) (literally: “take to the custom from where you're at”)
Thai: เข้าเมืองตาหลิ่ว ต้องหลิ่วตาตาม (th) (kâo meuang dtaa lìw dtông lìw dtaa dtaam)
Turkish: Roma'dayken Romalılar gibi davran
Vietnamese: nhập gia tùy tục, 入家隨俗 (literally: “enter house, follow customs”), nhập gia tùy tục, nhập giang tùy khúc (vi), 入家隨俗，入江隨曲 (literally: “enter the house, follow customs, enter river, follow bends”), nhập hương tùy tục (vi)
Welsh: pan foch yn Rhufain, gwnewch fel y Rhufeiniaid, yn Ffrainc rhaid yfed yn ffraeth

References

Seferyan, S. S.; Hovhannisyan, L. V.; Lazaryan, A. A. (1986) Angleren-hayeren darjvacabanakan baṙaran [English–Armenian Phraseological Dictionary], Yerevan: University Press, page 179

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