ProverbHub
Arabic · Arabic scriptProverb: Verified

«زَي قِرَايْةِ الْيَهُودْ تِلْتِينْهَا كِدْبْ»

Meanings

Each meaning is reviewed on its own.

Meaning: Verified
English translation

Just like the Jews' reading: two parts out of three are lies.

Literal wording

Like the reading of the Jews: two-thirds of it is lies.

Meaning and lesson

The proverb accuses someone of being mostly dishonest: whatever they say, the greater share is fabricated. It is aimed at a habitual liar whose statements cannot be trusted; the fraction 'two-thirds' is a rhetorical exaggeration meaning 'most of it,' stressing that falsehood outweighs truth.

Its force comes from a comparison that slanders Jews, claiming their reading or recitation is largely false. It is a prejudiced expression, not a harmless quip: the insult depends on an ethnic and religious stereotype built into the image, which is recorded here, not endorsed.

When it is used

Aimed at a person whose talk is judged to be largely untrue, often dismissively. Because it insults Jews as a religious group, it belongs only in discussion or documentation of the proverb, not in everyday use as a casual put-down.

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