Proverbs from Around the World
89 flashcards by MentisLibrary
Folk wisdom from more than forty cultures, from Swahili to Icelandic, each with its meaning explained and the original-language version where it is well known. A few famous proverbs turn out not to come from where everyone thinks.
- Fall seven times, stand up eight.
- Japanese. Resilience matters more than avoiding failure.
- The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
- Japanese. Standing out from the group invites correction.
- Even monkeys fall from trees.
- Japanese. Even experts make mistakes.
- A frog in a well does not know the great ocean.
- Japanese, from a Chinese original. A narrow experience produces a narrow view.
- Ten people, ten colours.
- Japanese. Everyone is different, so tastes and opinions differ.
- Talk does not cook rice.
- Chinese. Discussion accomplishes nothing without action.
- Dig the well before you are thirsty.
- Chinese. Prepare before you are in need.
- He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
- Chinese. Brief embarrassment is cheaper than lasting ignorance.
- The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.
- Commonly labelled Chinese, though no early Chinese source is known. Start now rather than mourn lost time.
- Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
- Usually called a Chinese proverb, but traced to the English writer Anne Isabella Ritchie in 1885. Skills outlast handouts.
- Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
- Often called Chinese, but first recorded in English in the 1900s. Act rather than complain.
- Even a sheet of paper is lighter when two people lift it.
- Korean. Any task is easier with help.
- Words have no feet, yet they travel a thousand miles.
- Korean. Be careful what you say, because it will spread.
- Starting is half the task.
- Korean. Beginning is the hardest and most valuable part.
- Trust, but verify.
- Russian. Confidence is fine, checking is better.
- You cannot pull a fish out of a pond without effort.
- Russian. Nothing worthwhile comes without work.
- Measure seven times, cut once.
- Russian. Plan carefully before acting irreversibly.
- The quieter you go, the further you will get.
- Russian. Patience and steadiness beat haste.
- The morning hour has gold in its mouth.
- German. The early part of the day is the most productive.
- Practice makes the master.
- German. Skill comes only from repetition.
- All good things come in threes.
- German. Three attempts, or three of a kind, feel complete.
- The apple does not fall far from the trunk.
- German. Children resemble their parents.
- Little by little, the bird builds its nest.
- French. Small consistent efforts produce large results.
- Whoever lives will see.
- French. Only time will tell.
- The habit does not make the monk.
- French. Appearances do not prove character.
- It is by forging that one becomes a blacksmith.
- French. Expertise comes from doing the work.
- There is no bad from which some good does not come.
- Spanish. Every misfortune carries a hidden benefit.
- The shrimp that falls asleep is carried away by the current.
- Spanish. Inattention costs you your chance.
- A bird in the hand is worth a hundred flying.
- Spanish. Take the sure thing over the possible one.
- He who grasps at much holds little.
- Spanish. Trying to do everything means doing nothing well.