Clever father, clever daughter; clever mother, clever son.

This is a traditional Russian proverb (пословица) reflecting folk ideas about heredity and upbringing within the household. In Russian peasant and small-town culture, children were commonly seen as inheriting not only physical traits but also practical intelligence, craft skill, and social “sense” from the parent of the same sex, who typically served as the closest model for work and behavior. Such sayings circulated orally for generations and were later collected in proverb anthologies in the 19th century, especially during the rise of ethnography and interest in narod (the people) culture. The line is usually presented as a compact, rhythmic pairing meant for everyday moral commentary rather than a fixed literary text.

The proverb asserts a parallel between parent and child—father with daughter, mother with son—suggesting that cleverness is transmitted through family lines and, more specifically, through cross-gender influence or affinity. It can be read as a claim about nature (inherited aptitude) and nurture (the child learning shrewdness by observing a parent). The crossed pairing also hints that wisdom and practical intelligence are not confined to one gender: a father may shape a capable daughter, and a mother may shape a capable son. In use, it can function as praise (explaining a child’s quickness) or as a reminder that parental example strongly forms the next generation.