Homo bulla
“Man is a bubble.”
Latin proverb (quoted by Varro)
What does “Homo bulla” mean?
Homo bulla translates as “Man is a bubble.”
Human life is as fragile and fleeting as a soap bubble. It is a classic memento mori, urging humility and the use of the time we have.
“Homo bulla” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Homo | man, a human being | nominative singular of homo, hominis (m.), “human being”; the subject of the sentence |
| bulla | a bubble | nominative singular of bulla (f.), “bubble”; the predicate noun. Latin leaves out “is”, so the phrase reads literally “man, a bubble” |
How to pronounce “Homo bulla”
The main difference is the h in homo, which is sounded in Classical Latin and silent in Church Latin. Stress falls on the first syllable of both words.
The story behind it
Word for word the phrase says “man, a bubble”. Latin does not need the verb “to be” here, so the two nouns simply stand side by side, which makes the saying hit hard.
The Roman author Varro quotes it as a familiar saying at the opening of his work on farming, De re rustica: “si est homo bulla, eo magis senex”, meaning “if man is a bubble, all the more so an old man”. So it was already a proverb in his day, not his own invention.
The Dutch humanist Erasmus later included it in his Adagia, his collection of classical proverbs, and helped spread it across Europe. It became a standard motif in vanitas art, often shown as a child blowing a soap bubble, a visual form of memento mori.
How to use “Homo bulla”
It suits a vanitas-style artwork, a print or poster with a soap-bubble motif, or a short reminder on mortality and humility for an essay, a speech or a tattoo. Its brevity makes it a good title or caption.
- Latin
- Homo bulla
- English
- Man is a bubble.
- Source
- Latin proverb (quoted by Varro)
- Era
- Classical
- Theme
- Mortality
Common mistakes
- The Latin has no verb. Do not add est for “is”; “Homo bulla” is complete as it stands.
- Homo means “human being” in general, not only “male”, so “Man” is meant in the sense of “humankind”. The male-only word is vir.
- Do not confuse bulla with bula or bullа-like spellings: the double l is part of the word, and a single-l spelling is simply wrong.
- It is a proverb quoted by Varro, not a line Varro wrote himself, and it is often wrongly credited to Erasmus, who only popularised it.
Questions about “Homo bulla”
What does “Homo bulla” mean literally?
“Man, a bubble”. Latin leaves out the verb, so the English is “Man is a bubble”: human life is as fragile and short-lived as a soap bubble.
Who said “Homo bulla”?
It is a Latin proverb. The Roman writer Varro quotes it in his book on farming, and Erasmus later made it famous in his Adagia. It is not tied to one original author.
How do you pronounce “Homo bulla”?
In Classical Latin it is roughly “HOH-moh BOOL-lah”, with the h sounded. In Church Latin the h is silent: “OH-moh BOOL-lah”.
Is “Homo bulla” correct Latin for a tattoo?
Yes. Both words are nominative and Latin needs no verb here, so the phrase is grammatically complete and correct.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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