Scout Motto

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

The Scout Motto of the Scout movement, in various languages, has 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 this same motto.

Baden-Powell on "Be Prepared"

In English, this motto is most commonly Be Prepared. In the third part of Scouting for Boys Robert Baden-Powell explains the meaning of the phrase:

The Scout Motto 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.^[1]

"To do the right thing at the right moment" can be extreme:

"Where a man has gone so far as to attempt suicide, a Scout should know what to do with him."^[2]

"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"^[3]

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.^[4]

(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 letter of each chapter spell out the Scout motto. The chosen words are: Bravery, Enterprise, Purpose, Resolution, Endurance, Partnership, Assurance, Reformation, Enthusiasm and Devolution.^[5]

Motto in various languages

• Note-many languages have masculine and feminine forms of words-where gender changes the Scout Motto, differences are reflected here.

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	[zə.ɡə.dʒu]
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 و أعدوا;		kun mustʌʕidʌn
Armenian	Armenia	Միշտ պատրաստ		Partsratsir Partsratsour	Always Ready, Elevate Yourself and Others with You	Misht Badrast
Azeri	Azerbaijan	Daima Hazır
Belarusian	Belarus	Напагатове!		Будзь гатоў!, Будь готов!		Napahatove, 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
Burmese	Burma	အဆင်သင့်			ever ready	A-sin-thint
Cantonese	Hong Kong, Macau	準備			Prepare	Joen bey
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, or Tu Vakarau ena Vei Gauna
Filipino	Philippines				Laging Handa!
Finnish	Finland	Ole valmis!		Var redo!
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) (Be Prepared) in Haiti and Lebanon; Toujours tout droit (Always straight/Always upstanding) in Senegal	Always Ready!	[tuʒuʁ pʁɛ]
Gilbertese	Kiribati	Mena tauraoi
Georgian	Georgia	იყავი მზად				ikavi mzad
German	Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Namibia, Switzerland	Allzeit bereit!		Seid bereit! in Namibia	Always Prepared	[ˈal.tsaɪt bəˈʁaɪt]
Greek	Cyprus, Greece	Έσo έτοιμος!	Ésso étimi!			Ésso étimos
Hawaiian	Hawaii	Hoʻomākaukau!
Modern Hebrew	Israel	היה נכון				heye nachon
Hindi	India	तैयार			Always Prepared	Taiyar
Hungarian	Hungary	Légy Résen!		Jó Munkát!	Be watchful
Iceland	Iceland	Ávallt viðbúinn!			Always Prepared
Indonesian	Indonesia	Satyaku Kudarmakan, Darmaku Kubaktikan[6]			My (Scout) Promise becomes my law, my (Scout) Law becomes my devotion
Interlingua		Sempre Preste
Irish	Ireland	Bí ullamh!
Italian	Italy, San Marino, Switzerland	Sii Preparato!	Sii Preparata!	Many Italian associations also use the Latin translation Estote parati		[ˈsiːi prepaˈraːto], [-ta]
Japanese	Japan	そなえよつねに			Always be prepared	Sonae-yo tsuneni [so.na.e.jo tsu.ne.ni]
Kazakh	Kazakhstan	Дайын бол!		Будь готов!		Dayyin Bol
Kinyarwanda	Rwanda	Ube Maso!
Kirundi	Burundi	Ube Maso
Korean	South Korea	준비			Preparation	Junbi
Kyrgyz	Kyrgyzstan	Даяр Бол		Будь готов		Dayar Bol
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!, Always Watchful!	Esi Modra!; response Arvien Modra!, Always Watchful!		Be Watchful
Lithuanian	Lithuania	Budėk!; response Vis budžiu!
Luxembourgish	Luxembourg	Ëmmer bereet!		Trei zum Land!	Loyal to the country
Macedonian	Macedonia	Биди Подготвен				Bidi Podgotven
Malagasy	Madagascar	Vonona hatrany hatrany!			Always Prepared
Malay	Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore	Selalu Bersedia!	Selalu Sedia!	Sentiasa Bersedia/Sedia! in Malaysia
Maltese	Malta	Kun lest!	Kun lesta!
Mandarin	Republic of China (Taiwan)	準備	準備		Prepare	zhǔnbèi
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!, answered Alltid Beredt!			Be Prepared!, answered Always Prepared!
Papiamento	Aruba, Netherlands Antilles	Wees Bereid		Sea prepará! in Netherlands Antilles
Pashto	Afghanistan	تیار اوسی			Attention	Tayar Osay
Persian	Iran	آماده باش				Aamaadeh Baash!
Polish	Poland	Czuwaj!			Watch! (imp.)
Portuguese	Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe	Sempre alerta!	Semper parata!		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
Sakha	Yakutia	Бэлэм буол!	Бэлэм буол!			Belem Buol
Samoan	American Samoa, Samoa	Sauniuni
Serbian	Serbia	Буди спреман
Sinhalese	Sri Lanka	සූදානම් ව සිටිනු!				Soodhanamva Sitinu
Slovakian	Slovakia	Buď Pripravený
Slovene	Slovenia	Bodi pripravljen!		Vedno pripravljen!, Z naravo k boljšemu človeku!	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 seɾˈβir], [-ˈlista-]
Sranan Tongo	Suriname	Sete sete!
Swahili	Comoros, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda	Uwe Tayari
Swazi	Swaziland	Hlala ulungele!
Swedish	Sweden	Var redo! - Alltid redo!			Be Prepared, 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!		Taiyor bosh
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!, Будь готов	Always Prepared
Tuvan	Tuva	Бэлэн бол!			Become prepared	Belen Bol
Urdu	India, Pakistan	١ڶمستعد		Teyar raho!	Ready or Prepared	Almustaid
Ukrainian	Ukraine	Будь Готовий!		СКОБ! an acronym for Сильно! Красно! Обережно! Бистро!	With Strength! With Beauty! With Care! With Speed!	Bud' Hotovyi, Skob
Uyghur	Xinjiang (PRC)	تەييار بول				Teyyar Bol
Uzbek	Uzbekistan	Tayyor bo‘l, Тайёр бўл		Будь готов		Tayor Bol
Vietnamese	Vietnam	Sắp Sẵn
Zarma	Niger	(Wa) soola			Get ready

Similar mottoes in other organizations

• The motto of the Young Pioneers, Always Prepared in various national languages, the Pioneers having been created as an alternative in countries where Scouting was banned
• The motto of the United States Coast Guard, Semper Paratus or ever ready.

Notes

1. Baden-Powell, Robert. Scouting for Boys - Campfire Yarn No. 3 - Becoming a Scout.
2. Baden-Powell, Robert. Scouting for Boys - Campfire Yarn No. 25 - Helping Others.
3. Scouting for Boys, First Publication, #5, 12 February 1908, pp. 331-332. (not in later editions)
4. Forbes, Cynthia. 1910... and then?.
5. "The Left Handshake: Forward by Lord Rowallan". 1997-08-03. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
6. "Motto Gerakan Pramuka". www.pramukanet.org.