有人直译为：

　　one who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black.(vermilion 是朱砂或鲜红色的意思)

　　也有人译成：

　　When you touch black, you become black; when you touch red, you become red.

　　这种说法，恐怕老外一时无法理解真正含意。 不过他们倒有这么说：

　　One takes the behavior of one's company. (一个人的行为，往往受到朋友的影响。) 或

　　One takes on the attributes of one's associates. (attributes 复数時是指品质、特性；associates 指朋友、同事)

　　简单的说，就是：

　　Watch the company you keep!(小心交朋友！)

　　或者也可以说成:

　　As he who lies with dogs will ride with fleas, how could your son learn anything good by mixing with those people? (你儿子跟那些人混在一起,能学出个好来?)