ProverbHub
ArabicArabic scriptExpression: Verified

«اُرْبُط الحُمَارْ جَنْب رفِيقُهْ إِنْ مَا تعَلِّمْ مِنْ شِهِيقُهْ يِتْعَلِّمْ مِنْ نِهِيقُهْ»

Meanings

Search and comparison operate on a sense, not on the raw text.

Sense: Verified
English translation

Keep a donkey beside another, and sooner or later it will sound like its neighbor.

Literal wording

Tie the donkey beside its companion: if it does not learn its drawn-in cry, it will learn its bray.

Meaning and lesson

People tend to pick up habits from those they spend time with, even if they do not become alike in every way.

When it is used

Said when someone begins to resemble a companion in behavior, or as a warning about the influence of close company.

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Colloquial