Proverbs in around the world

Proverbs in the Countries and Cultures

Afghanistan

Proverbs from Afghanistan

	What you see in yourself is what you see in the world. ඔබ තුළින් ඔබ දකින දේ , ඔබට ලොව තුළින්ද දැකිය හැකිය.
	There are twenty-five uncaught sparrows for a penny. අතට අල්ලා නොගත් කුරරුල්ලන් විසිපහක් වුවද, සතයට ගත හැකිය.
	Don't show me the palm tree, show me the dates. මට ඉදි ගස නොපෙන්නා රටඉදි ගෙඩි පමණක් පෙන්වන්න.
	Only stretch your foot to the length of your blanket.
	No one says his own buttermilk is sour. තමන්ගේ මෝරු පිළුණු වෙලා යැයි කිසිවෙක් නොකියති.

African culture

Proverbs from the African Culture

	Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped. ඔබ වැටුනු තැන නොබලන්න. ලිස්සූ තැන බලන්න.
	A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything නුවණැත්තා සියල්ල ගැන කිසිවක්  නොදනී. එහෙත් මෝඩයා හැම දෙයම දනී.
	Indecision is like a stepchild: if he does not wash his hands, he is called dirty, if he does, he is wasting water.කෙළින් තීරණයක් නොගැනීමත් හරියට මව-පියා නැති දරුවකු වාගෙයි. ඔහු අත නොසේදුවොත් කිළුට්ටෙකි. අත් සේදුවොත් වතුර නාස්ති කරන්නෙකි.
	Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet. දෙපයම දමා වතුරේ ගැඹුර බැලිය හැක්කේ මෝඩයෙකුට පමණි.
	Whatever accomplishment you boast of in the world, there is someone better than you. ඔබ හරි හැටි වැඩක් නිමා නොකොට ඒ ගැන කයිවාරු ගසයි නම්,  ඔබට වඩා හොද අය ලොව කොතෙකුත් සිටිනු ඇත.

Albania

Proverbs from Albania

	The sun at home warms better than the sun elsewhere.
	If you fear God, you won't fear humans.
	He who hesitates, regrets.
	Don't put gold buttons on a torn coat.
	Patience is the key to paradise.

·  Argentina

Proverbs from Argentina

	Children's love is like water in a basket.
	No woman can make a wise man out of a fool, but every woman can change a wise man into a fool.
	If you have a tail of straw, then keep away from the fire.
	A man who develops himself is born twice.
	A dog that barks all the time gets little attention.

·  Armenia

Proverbs from Armenia

	The world is a pot, man but a spoon in it.
	You are as many a person as languages you know.
	How can one start a fast with baklava in one's hand.
	The eagle was killed by an arrow made from its own feathers.
	Clouds that thunder do not always rain.

·  Austria

Proverbs from Austria

	The hunt is like a dance for men, for the women the dance is the hunt.
	What I do not know will not keep me warm.
	A light is still a light-even though the blind man cannot see it.
	If you shoot your arrows at stones, you will damage them.
	The earth does not shake when the flea coughs.  Azerbaijan

Proverbs from Azerbaijan

	One's own simple bread is much better than someone else's pilaf.
	It's not shameful not to know, but it's shameful not to ask.
	Cheap meat never makes a good soup.
	Beauty is ten, nine of which is dressing.
	Courage is ten, nine is the ability to escape.

·  Bantu*

Proverbs from the Bantu* Culture

	The earth is a beehive; we all enter by the same door but live in different cells..
	The eye never forgets what the heart has seen.
	A good deed will make a good neighbor.
	Whenever I work hard for other people, I always sleep on an empty stomach.
	No man can paddle two canoes at the same time.

·  Belgium

Proverbs from Belgium

	The horse must graze where it is tethered.
	The beautiful is less what one sees than what one dreams.
	He who does not wish for little things does not deserve big things.
	Who sieves too much keeps the rubbish.
	Weeds never perish.

·  Benin

Proverbs from Benin

	Anyone who sees beauty and does not look at it will soon be poor.
	Before you ask a man for clothes, look at the clothes that he is wearing.
	Words are like spears: Once they leave your lips they can never come back.
	There is no god like one's stomach; we must sacrifice to it every day.
	A great affair covers up a small matter.

·  Bosnia & Herzegovina

Proverbs from Bosnia & Herzegovina

	A brave man seldom is hurt in the back.
	The eyes of all cheats are full of tears.
	When an ant gets wings, it loses its head
	Two things rule the world -- reward and punishment.
	Why would you use poison if you can kill with honey.

·  Brazil

Proverbs from Brazil

	A wise man learns at the fool's expense.
	He who knows nothing, doubts nothing.
	The trees with most leaves will not necessarily produce juicy fruit.
	Between the beginning and the end there is always a middle.
	You can only take out of a bag what was already in it.

·  Bulgaria

Proverbs from Bulgaria

	If you let everyone walk over you, you become a carpet.
	If you wish to drown, do not torture yourself with shallow water.
	Seize opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind.
	God promises a safe landing but not a calm passage.
	Nature, time, and patience are the three great physicians.

·  Burma

Proverbs from Burma

	Beware of a man's shadow and a bee's sting.
	The blind person never fears ghosts.
	One sesame seed won't make oil.
	A stupid act entails doing the work twice over.
	A hero only appears once the tiger is dead.

·  Cameroon

Proverbs from Cameroon

	He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.
	A chattering bird builds no nest.
	You come with a cat and call it a rabbit.
	Rain does not fall on one roof alone.
	By trying often, the monkey learns to jump from the tree.

·  China

Proverbs from China

	A man should choose a friend who is better than himself. There are plenty of acquaintances in the world; but very few real friends.
	A maker of idols is never an idolater.
	A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
	A clever person turns great troubles into little ones and little ones into none at all.
	A thorn defends the rose, harming only those who would steal the blossom.

·  Congo (Kinshasa)

Proverbs from Congo (Kinshasa)

	When the bee comes to your house, let her have beer; you may want to visit the bee's house some day.
	A pretty basket does not prevent worries.
	A cat goes to a monastery, but she still remains a cat.
	Little by little grow the bananas.
	No matter how full the river, it still wants to grow.

·  Cuba

Proverbs from Cuba

	When the sun rises, it rises for everyone.
	Believe only half of what you see and nothing of what you hear.
	What is new is pleasing and what is old is satisfying.
	Life is short but a smile takes barely a second.
	Listen to what they say of the others and you will know what they say about you.

·  Czech Republic

Proverbs from Czech Republic

	Do not choose your wife at a dance, but in the field among the harvesters.
	Wisdom is easy to carry but difficult to gather.
	Better a lie which heals than a truth which wounds.
	Nothing seems expensive on credit.
	Do not protect yourself with a fence, but rather by your friends.

·  Denmark

Proverbs from Denmark

	Better to ask twice than to lose your way once.
	A lazy boy and a warm bed are difficult to part.
	He who builds according to every man's advice will have a crooked house.
	Give to a pig when it grunts and a child when it cries, and you will have a fine pig and a bad child.
	A single bag of money is stronger than two bags of truth.

·  Egypt

Proverbs from Egypt

	Learn politeness from the impolite.
	When the angels present themselves, the devils abscond.
	False ambition serves the neck.
	A beautiful thing is never perfect.
	The barking of a dog does not disturb the man on a camel

·  English*

Proverbs from the English* Culture

	Some men go through a forest and see no firewood.
	A fool may ask more questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in seven years.
	It is better to begin in the evening than not at all.
	You never miss a slice from a cut loaf.
	When a proud man hears another praised, he feels himself injured.

·  Ethiopia

Proverbs from Ethiopia

	Advise and counsel him; if he does not listen, let adversity teach him.
	What one hopes for is always better than what one has.
	A single stick may smoke, but it will not burn.
	The frog wanted to be as big as the elephant, and burst.
	The witness of a rat is another rat.

·  France

Proverbs from France

	Wait until it is night before saying it has been a fine day.
	There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.
	With enough "ifs" we could put Paris into a bottle.
	Write injuries in sand, kindnesses in marble.
	People count up the faults of those who keep them waiting.

·  Gaelic*

Proverbs from the Gaelic* Culture

	He that will not look forward must look behind.
	A dimple on the chin, the devil within.
	He who would enjoy the fruit must not spoil the blossoms.
	Even God cannot make two mountains without a valley in between.
	Assurance is two-thirds of success.

·  Georgia

Proverbs from Georgia

	The rooster said, "I shall cry but whether the sun rises God knows."
	The eyeless ant asked God: Give me eye-lashes.
	God laughs at man's proposal.
	You cackle in our place but you lay your eggs at someone else's place.
	The cat which did not reach the sausage said: Anyhow it is Friday.

·  Germany

Proverbs from Germany

	Too clever is stupid.
	God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them.
	Begin to weave and God will give the thread.
	A lean agreement is better than a fat lawsuit.
	Flatters, like cats, lick and then scratch.

·  Ghana

Proverbs from Ghana

	No one tests the depth of the river with both feet.
	Hunger is felt by a slave and hunger is felt by a king.
	If there were no elephant in the jungle, the buffalo would be a great animal.
	If things are getting easier, maybe you're headed downhill.
	Only when you have crossed the river can you say the crocodile has a lump on his snout.

·  Greece

Proverbs from Greece

	Great abilities produce great vices as well as virtues.
	Men who have lost heart never yet won a trophy.
	Men never moan over the opportunities lost to do good, only the opportunities to be bad.
	Milk the cow, but do not pull off the udder.
	First secure an independent income, then practice virtue.

·  Guinea, Republic of

Proverbs from Guinea, Republic of

	The man on his feet carries off the share of the man sitting down.
	When a needle falls into a deep well, many people will look into the well, but few will be ready to go down after it.
	When you wait for tomorrow it never comes. When you don't wait for it tomorrow still comes.
	Save your fowl before it stops flapping.
	He who has done evil, expects evil.

·  Haiti

Proverbs from Haiti

	Beyond the mountain is another mountain.
	Ignorance doesn't kill you, but it does make you sweat a lot.
	The pencil of God has no eraser.
	If someone sweats for you, you change his shirt.
	Don't insult the alligator until you've crossed the river.

·  Hebrew*

Proverbs from the Hebrew* Culture

	Teach thy tongue to say, "I do not know.".
	If a word be worth one shekel, silence is worth two.
	A little fire burns up a great deal of corn.
	He that eats till he is sick must fast till he is well.
	Poverty is a wonderful thing. It sticks to a man after all his friends have forsaken him.

·  Hindu*

Proverbs from the Hindu* Culture

	A man in this world without learning is as a beast of the field.
	When a camel is at the foot of a mountain then judge of his height.
	Among the blind, the squint rules.
	When an elephant is in trouble even a frog will kick him.
	Never strike your wife, even with a flower.

·  Hungary

Proverbs from Hungary

	A prudent man does not make the goat his gardener.
	The believer is happy; the doubter is wise.
	When ambition ends, happiness begins.
	Bargain like a gypsy, but pay like a gentleman.
	A flatterer is a secret enemy.

·  Iceland

Proverbs from Iceland

	Mediocrity is climbing molehills without sweating.
	Useless wisdom is doulbe foolishness.
	All old sayings have something in them.
	He who lives without discipline dies without honor.
	Everyone wants to live long, but no one wants to be called old.

·  India

Proverbs from India

	Life is a bridge. Cross over it, but build no house on it.
	A person consists of his faith. Whatever is his faith, even so is he.
	Don't bargain for fish which are still in the water.
	Call on God, but row away from the rocks.
	The cobra will bite you whether you call it cobra or Mr. Cobra.