proverbs throughout the world
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Proverbs Throughout the World
African Proverbs
Across the vast continent of Africa, many African nations disseminated proverbs that weremeant to educate and inspire those who used them.
Here are a few examples of African proverbs.
A tree is known by its fruit (of Zulu origin - this means that success is shown by
the deeds.)
I have been bitten by a tsetse fly (of Tanzanian origin this means that a person
will continuously be a pest until you pay off a debt.)
The word of friend makes you cry the word of an enemy makes you laugh (of
Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger this means that a friend will tellyou the truth and sometimes the truth hurts, whereas an enemy will only lead you
down the wrong path by giving you advice that seems good but is not.)
Asian Proverbs
Some examples of Asian proverbs include the following:
The old horse in the stable still yearns to run (this means that those who are older
still have things they would like to accomplish.)
A spark can start a fire that burns the entire prairie (this means that a small
problem can snowball into a huge problem that can cause major damage.)
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him
for a lifetime (this means that teaching people is better in the long run because it
gives them the skills to provide for themselves as opposed to you doing things for
them.)
American Proverbs
Some examples of American based proverbs include:
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder (this means that when you separate from
someone that you love by putting distance between you that you will inevitably love
them more and yearn to see them.)
"All that glitters is not gold (this means that just because something looks good,
does not necessarily mean that it is good.)
"A monkey in silk is a monkey no less (this means that just because someone
dresses fancy does not necessarily mean that they are fancy or of good character.)
English Proverbs
Some examples of English proverbs include:
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Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
Its no use locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.
See a pin and pick it up, all the day youll have good luck; see a pin and let it lie, bad
luck youll have all day.
Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.
Mondays child is fair of face/Tuesdays child is full of grace,/Wednesdays child is
full of woe,/Thursdays child has far to go,/Fridays child is loving and
giving,/Saturdays child works hard for its living/And a child thats born on the
Sabbath day/Is fair and wise and good and gay.
Proverbs from Other Countries
Arabic Proverb: An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by
a sheep.
Finnish proverb: Even a small star shines in the darkness.
Italian Proverb: After the game, the king and pawn go into the same box.
Jewish Proverb: God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.
Russian Proverb: Better to stumble than make a slip of the tongue.
Spanish Proverb: Since we cannot get what we like, let us like what we can get.