- English translation
Every small stream feels squeezed by the water it carries; everyone has their own troubles.
- Literal wording
Every little channel is cramped by its own water.
- Meaning and lesson
The proverb pictures a small irrigation ditch, not a large canal, pressed and strained by the volume of its own flow. The image suggests that whatever fills a person's life also presses on them from within, so no one is free of the particular weight they must carry.
In practical terms, it says that every individual has worries that trouble them, even if outsiders cannot see them. It discourages envy and assumptions about others' ease, inviting sympathy for burdens that remain hidden.
- When it is used
Suitable when someone assumes another person has an easy life, or when people compare hardships. It quietly reminds listeners that each person carries private burdens, and it can soften judgment or end a contest over who suffers most.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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