- English translation
Happy is the one who eats his own bread and cheers others with his conversation.
- Literal wording
O the luck of whoever eats from his own loaf and keeps people company with his voice.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying opens with an exclamation of admiration, not a literal claim about fate or chance. It praises a person who lives on his own round flat bread yet still brightens the company of others with his talk. He takes nothing from anyone's table, but he gives warmth, conversation, and presence in return.
Here 'voice' means the sound of someone talking, not feeling or perception. The point is how to stay welcome: people cherish a companion who adds cheer without becoming a burden. Someone who shares his voice but not other people's food is loved, and he never wears out his welcome.
- When it is used
Use it to praise someone who joins gatherings without expecting to be fed or hosted, offering only good company. It can also gently advise a guest to bring conversation rather than appetite, or to commend modest self-reliance in social life.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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