Explore Arabic traditional proverbsReviewed 2026-09-27
Sense: Verified- English translation
If you borrow, use the money to grow a crop, not just to feed yourself.
- Literal wording
Borrow and sow, but do not borrow and swallow.
- Meaning and lesson
Debt is more prudent when it supports work that may bring in enough to repay it than when it pays for something consumed at once.
- When it is used
Used to advise someone weighing a loan, contrasting productive spending with immediate consumption.
- Register
- Colloquial, proverbial
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: If you borrow, use the money to grow a crop, not just to feed yourself.