- English translation
If you choose to live alongside someone, you must put up with the demands that come with them.
- Literal wording
Whoever keeps company with a young man must endure his burdens.
- Meaning and lesson
Close association is not limited to companionship’s pleasant side. Anyone who enters a relationship, household, or partnership should expect to bear some of the other person’s habits, needs, and difficulties.
The saying counsels patience as the cost of maintaining ties with others. Its “young man” wording is a conventional proverbial label rather than a precise statement about age, and “burdens” broadly covers demands, troubles, and taxing qualities, not merely material obligations.
- When it is used
Used when advising patience with the troublesome traits or recurring demands of a companion. It may follow a complaint about someone one has chosen to associate with, stressing that some inconvenience is part of the relationship; the wording should not be taken as a stereotype about young men.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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