Scout Motto

Scout Motto
Scout badge awarded "for merit", with the motto "Be prepared"

The Scout Motto of the Scout movement is, in English, "Be Prepared", with most international branches of the group using a close translation of that phrase. These mottoes have been used by millions of Scouts around the world since 1907. Most of the member organizations of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) share the same mottoes.

In the first part of Scouting for Boys, Robert Baden-Powell explains the meaning of the phrase:

The scouts' motto is founded on my initials, it is:

BE PREPARED,

which means, you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your DUTY;

Be Prepared in Mind by having disciplined yourself to be obedient to every order, and also by having thought out beforehand any accident or situation that might occur, so that you know the right thing to do at the right moment, and are willing to do it.

Be Prepared in Body by making yourself strong and active and able to do the right thing at the right moment, and do it.

— Lieut. Gen. Baden Powell C.B., Scouting for Boys (1908), "Camp Fire Yarn.—No. 4. Scout Law." (Part I, p. 48)

Baden-Powell on "Be Prepared"

Baden-Powell provides several descriptions of how and for what situations a Scout must be prepared elsewhere in Scouting for Boys. In his explanation of the third point of the Scout Law, Baden-Powell says:

A Scout's Duty is to be Useful and to Help Others.

And he is to do his duty before anything else, even though he gives up his own pleasure, or comfort, or safety to do it. When in difficulty to know which of two things to do, he must ask himself, "Which is my duty?" that is, "Which is best for other people?"—and do that one. He must Be Prepared at any time to save life, or to help injured persons. And he must do a good turn to somebody every day.

— Lieut. Gen. Baden Powell C.B., Scouting for Boys (1908), "Camp Fire Yarn.—No. 4. Scout Law." (Part I, p. 49)

In the opening chapter of Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell says:

Every boy ought to learn how to shoot and to obey orders, else he is no more good when war breaks out than an old woman, and merely gets killed like a squealing rabbit, being unable to defend himself.

— Lieut. Gen. Baden Powell C.B., Scouting for Boys (1908), "Camp Fire Yarn.—No. 1. Mafeking Boy Scouts." (Part I, Chapter I, pp. 9–10)

Baden-Powell discuses more skills required of Scouts in Chapter IV of Scouting for Boys, which addresses camp life, and he lists:

• Tying knots
• Making a bivouac shelter for the night, or a hut for longer-term camping
• Using an axe or bill-hook to fell small trees and branches
• Mending and even making clothes and boots
• Cooking meat and vegetables, and making bread without regular cooking utensils
• Driving sheep, cattle and horses
• Killing and butchering cattle
• Milking cows or goats

Advice given by Baden-Powell in Chapter V on campaigning includes the requirements of:

• Being able to find one's way by night and by day
• Being able to read a barometer, and signs of the weather
• Judging distance from an inch up to a mile or more
• Knowing the points of a compass

In a chapter discussing endurance, Baden-Powell writes that a scout should be able to:

• Smell well in order to find his enemy by night
• Hear well
• Have good eyesight to notice things rapidly and at distance

In Chapter VII, Baden-Powell discussed how Scouts prepare themselves to protect women and how they can improve themselves. He says a scout should walk with a woman on his left "so that his right is free to protect her", walking on the other side in the streets to protect her from traffic. Baden-Powell adds to "Be Prepared" for the future by learning a trade and saving up pay.

Chapter VIII of Scouting for Boys discussed saving life. On this topic, Baden-Powell says that a scout should be prepared by:

• Learning beforehand what to do in the event of likely accidents
• Being prepared to do what is required the moment that an accident does occur
• Knowing how to deal with a mad dog, and being prepared to take the necessary action
• Knowing how to react to a person's suicide attempt

In the chapter on patriotism, Baden-Powell says to "Be Prepared to die for your country if need be, so that when the moment arrives you may charge home with confidence, not caring whether you are going to be killed or not."

The first handbook for Girl Guides, How Girls Can Help to Build Up the Empire by Agnes and Robert Baden-Powell, similarly explains:

The motto of the Girl Guides is "Be Prepared". Why is this? It is because, like the other Guides, you have to be prepared at any moment to face difficulties and even dangers by knowing what to do and how to do it.

(The "other Guides" of this quote are the Khyber Guide Regiment.)

Acrostic

Hilary Saint George Saunders' book The Left Handshake: The Boy Scout Movement during the War, 1939–1945 had the first name of each chapter spell out the Scout motto. The chosen names are: Bravery, Enterprise, Purpose, Resolution, Endurance, Partnership, Assurance, Reformation, Enthusiasm and Devotion.

Motto in various languages

Swiss Boy Scout book Allzeit bereit ("Always prepared") from 1916

Many languages have masculine and feminine forms of words – where gender changes the Scout Motto, differences are reflected here.

Motto in various languages

Language	Countries	Boy Scouts	Girl Guides or Girl Scouts	Organizational variant	Translation (if other than "Be prepared")	Transliteration or pronunciation
Afrikaans	Namibia, South Africa	Wees geréed!
Albanian	Albania	Ji gati		Pergatitu	"Always prepared"
Amharic	Ethiopia	ዝግጁ			"Ready"	[zəɡədʒu]
Arabic	Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, Yemen	كُن مستعداً		in Jordan, Libya, and Syria وَأَعِدُّوا		[kun musˈtaʕidan] [wa ʔaˈʕidduː]
Armenian	Armenia	Միշտ պատրաստ		Partsratsir partsratsour	"Always ready" "Elevate yourself and others with you"	Misht Badrast
Azeri	Azerbaijan	Daima hazır
Belarusian	Belarus	Будзь гатоў				Budz' hatoǔ!
Bengali	Bangladesh	সেবার জন্য সদা প্রস্তুত থাকতে যথাসাধ্য চেষ্টা করা	সদা প্রস্তুত		"Do your best to be prepared for service"	Sebar jannoa sada prastut thakte jathasadhya chesta kara Sada prastut
Bislama	Vanuatu	Rerem			"Prepare"
Bosnian	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Budi spreman!		Uvijek spreman!
Bulgarian	Bulgaria	Бъди готов	Бъди готова			Bădi gotov Bădi gotova
Burmese	Burma	အဆင်သင့်			"Ever ready"	A-sin-thint
Cantonese	Hong Kong, Macau	準備			"Prepare"	Zeon2 bei6
Chinese (Traditional)	Taiwan	準備			"Prepare"	Zhǔnbèi
Catalan	Andorra, Catalonia, Balearic Islands, Valencia	Sempre a punt			"Always ready"
Chavacano	Zamboanga	Pirmi alisto!			"Always prepared!"
Chichewa	Malawi	Konzekerani
Cook Islands Māori	Cook Islands		Kia vai teateamamao!
Croatian	Croatia	Budi pripravan!		Uvijek spreman!
Czech	Czech Republic	Buď připraven	Buď připravena
Danish	Denmark	Vær beredt!		Værn og tjen!	"Protect and serve!"
Divehi	Maldives	އަބަދުވެސް ތައްޔާރްށް				Abadhuves thayyarah
Dutch	Belgium, the Netherlands, Suriname	Wees paraat!		Steeds bereid! in Belgium, Wees bereid! in the Netherlands, Weest paraat! in Suriname
Dzongkha	Bhutan	གྲ་འགྲིག་འབད་				"Dra drig bay"
English	Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe	Be prepared
Esperanto	(Skolta Esperanto Ligo)	Estu preta
Estonian	Estonia	Ole valmis!
Faroese	Faroe Islands	Ver til reiðar
Fijian	Fiji	Tu Vakarau Meda tu vakarau Tu vakarau ena vei gauna
Filipino	Philippines	Laging Handa!		Laging handa!	"Always ready!"
Finnish	Finland	Ole valmis!		Var redo! (in Swedish)
French	Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Guinea, Haiti, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Monaco, Morocco, New Caledonia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia	Toujours prêt!	Toujours prête!	Prêt(e) à servir ("Ready to serve") in Burkina Faso; Sois prêt(e)! ("Be prepared!") widespread; Être prêt(e) ("To be prepared") in Haiti and Lebanon; Toujours tout droit ("Always straight"/"Always upstanding") in Senegal	"Always ready!"	[tuʒuʁ pʁɛ(t)]
Georgian	Georgia	იყავი მზად				Ikavi mzad
German	Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Namibia, Switzerland	Allzeit bereit!	So gut ich kann!	Seid bereit! in Namibia	"Always prepared!" "As good as I can!"	[ˈaltsaɪt bəˈʁaɪt]
Gilbertese	Kiribati	Mena tauraoi
Greek	Cyprus, Greece	Έσo έτοιμος!	Έσo έτοιμη!			Éso étoimos! Éso étoimi!
Hawaiian	Hawaii	Hoʻomākaukau!
Modern Hebrew	Israel	היה נכון				Heye nachon
Hindi	India	तैयार			"Prepared"	Taiyar
Hungarian	Hungary	Légy résen!		Jó munkát!	"Be watchful!"
Icelandic	Iceland	Ávallt viðbúinn!			"Always prepared!"
Indonesian	Indonesia	Satyaku kudarmakan, darmaku kubaktikan			"My promise becomes my law, my law becomes my devotion"
Interlingua		Sempre preste
Irish	Ireland	Bí ullamh!
Italian	Italy, San Marino, Switzerland	Siate pronti!	Siate pronte!	CNGEI uses Sii preparato (feminine Sii preparata) and the Catholic organization AGESCI uses the Latin translation Estote parati from Lc 12,40 and Mt 24,44		[ˈsjaːte ˈpronti] [ˈsjaːte ˈpronte]
Japanese	Japan	そなえよつねに			"Always be prepared"	Sonae-yo tsuneni [sona.ejo tsɯneɲi]
Kazakh	Kazakhstan	Дайын бол!		Будь готов! (in Russian)		Dayyin bol! Bud' gotov!
Kinyarwanda	Rwanda	Ube maso!
Kirundi	Burundi	Ube maso
Korean	South Korea	준비			"Preparation"	Junbi
Kyrgyz	Kyrgyzstan	Даяр бол		Будь готов (in Russian)		Dayar bol Bud' gotov
Khmer	Cambodia	ត្រៀមខ្លួន	ត្រៀមខ្លួន			Triam kloun
Lao	Laos	ຕຣຽມພຣ້ອມ			"Prepared"	[tliaːm˨ pʰlɔːm˦˩]
Latin		Estote parati		Some Italian associations (usually Catholic) use this form
Latvian	Latvia	Esi modrs!; response Arvien modrs!	Esi modra!; response Arvien modra!		"Be watchful" "Always watchful!"
Lithuanian	Lithuania	Budėk!; response Vis budžiu!
Luxembourgish	Luxembourg	Ëmmer bereet!		Trei zum Land!	"Loyal to the country!"
Macedonian	North Macedonia	Биди подготвен				Bidi podgotven
Malagasy	Madagascar	Vonona hatrany hatrany!			"Always prepared"
Malay	Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore	Selalu bersedia!	Selalu sedia!	Sentiasa (ber)sedia! in Malaysia
Maltese	Malta	Kun lest!	Kun lesta!
Mongolian	Mongolia	Хэзээд бэлхэн!	Бэлэн бол!		"Become prepared!" "(I am) ready forever!"	Belen bol! Hezeed belhen!
Montenegrin	Montenegro	Буди спреман				Budi spreman
Nepali	Nepal	तयार होऊ				Tayar hou
Netsilik Inuit	Nunavut	ᐃᔈᓗᐊᖖᓯᓯᒪᐃᓐᓇᓗᑎᑦ
Niuean	Niue	Kia mautali
Norwegian	Norway	Vær beredt!; response Alltid beredt!			"Be prepared!" "Always prepared!"
Papiamento	Aruba, Netherlands Antilles	Wees bereid! (in Dutch)		Sea prepará! in Netherlands Antilles
Pashto	Afghanistan	تیار اوسی			"Attention"	Tayar osay
Persian	Iran	آماده باش				Âmâdeh bâsh
Polish	Poland	Czuwaj!			"Watch!" (imp.)
Portuguese	Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe	Sempre alerta!	Semper parata! (in Latin)		"Always alert!"
Romanian	Moldova, Romania	Gata oricând		Fii pregatit(a)! in Romania	"Always ready"
Romansh	Switzerland	Adina pronto!	Adina pronta!
Russian	Russia	Будь готов!	Будь готова!			Bud' gotov(a)!
Sakha	Yakutia	Бэлэм буол!				Belem buol!
Samoan	American Samoa, Samoa	Sauniuni
Serbian	Serbia	Буди спреман				Budi spreman
Sinhala	Sri Lanka	සූදානම් ව සිටිනු!				Soodhanamva sitinu!
Slovakian	Slovakia	Buď pripravený
Slovene	Slovenia	Bodi pripravljen!		Vedno pripravljen!, Z naravo k boljšemu človeku!	"Always prepared!" "With nature to a better person!"
Somali	Djibouti, Somalia	Diyaar ahaaw		Is diyaari
Sotho	Lesotho	Dula o lokile
Spanish	Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica*, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea*, Guatemala*, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela	¡Siempre listo (para servir*)!	¡Siempre lista (para servir*)!	¡Bien preparadas! ("Well prepared!") in Mexico; ¡Siempre activas! ("Always active!") in Nicaragua, ¡Estar preparadas! ("Being prepared!") in Peru and Puerto Rico	"Always ready (to serve*)!"	[ˈsjempɾe ˈlisto ˈpaɾa seɾˈβiɾ], [- ˈlista -]
Sranan Tongo	Suriname	Sete sete!
Swahili	Comoros, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda	Uwe tayari
Swazi	Swaziland	Hlala ulungele!
Swedish	Sweden	Var redo! Alltid redo!			"Always prepared!"
Syriac	Assyria	ܡܬܘܼܡ ܥܬܝܼܕܵܐ			"Always ready"	Mthoom 'teeda
Tagalog	Philippines	Laging handâ!			"Always prepared!"
Tahitian	French Polynesia	Parau ha' amanaora!			"Always prepared!"
Tamil	Sri Lanka	தயார் நிலையில் இரு!				Thayaar nilayil iru!
Tajik	Tajikistan	Тайёр бош		Будь готов! (in Russian)		Taiyor bosh Bud' gotov!
Thai	Thailand	เสียชีพอย่าเสียสัตย์			"Better to die than to lie"	Sia chip ya sia sat [sǐa̯ t͡ɕʰîːp jàː sǐa̯ sàt]
Tibetan	Tibet (PRC)	Gtan gyi thugs rje
Tok Pisin	Papua New Guinea	Stap redi
Tongan	Tonga	Toka mateuteu		Mo'ui mateuteu
Tswana	Botswana	Nna oi pokoulse!	Nna o ipaakantse!
Turkish	Turkey	Daima hazır!		Daima hazırız!, İzci daima hazırdır!	"Always prepared!"
Turkmen	Turkmenistan	Daima hazır!		Daima hazırız!	"Always prepared!"
Tuvan	Tuva	Бэлэн бол!			"Become prepared!"	Belen bol!
Urdu	India, Pakistan	١ڶمستعد		Teyar raho!	"Prepared"	Almustaid
Ukrainian	Ukraine	Будь Готовий!		СКОБ! (an acronym for Сильно! Красно! Обережно! Бистро!)	"With strength! With beauty! With care! With speed!"	Bud' hotoviy! SKOB!
Uyghur	Xinjiang (PRC)	تەييار بول				Teyyar bol
Uzbek	Uzbekistan	Тайёр бўл		Будь готов (in Russian)		Tayyor bo‘l Bud' gotov
Vietnamese	Vietnam	Sẵn sàng
Zarma	Niger	(Wa) soola			"Get ready"

Similar mottoes in other organizations

• Aston Villa F.C.'s earliest documented club crest, the Lion Rampant To dexter (facing left) on a shield with motto "Prepared", was first documented in the club program of 1 September 1906.
• The motto of the Young Pioneers, Always prepared in various national languages, the Pioneers having been created as an alternative in countries under Communist rule where Scouting was banned.
• The motto of the United States Coast Guard, Semper Paratus or 'always ready'.
• The motto of the British Army's Parachute Regiment, Utrinque Paratus or 'ready for anything'.

Another motto mentioned in Scouting for Boys

In Part IV, Chapter VI of the first edition of Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell mentioned another Scout Motto:

A scout's motto is "Never say die till you're dead"—and if he acts up to this it will pull him out of many a bad place when everything seems to be going wrong for him. It means a mixture of pluck, patience, and strength, which we call "Endurance."

— Lieut. Gen. Baden Powell C.B., Scouting for Boys (1908), "Camp Fire Yarn —No. 17". How to Grow Strong. p. 210. Part IV, chapter VI

See also

• Scouting Round the World
• Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation#Slogan and greeting

Further reading

• Wilson, John S. (1959). Scouting Round the World (First ed.). Blandford Press.