«زَيِّ السَّمَكْ يَاكُلْ بَعْضُهْ»

The saying likens a quarrelling family to fish that prey on their own kind. It points to people bound by blood who, instead of protecting each other, cause one another pain through hurtful speech or damaging actions.

Beyond describing the conflict, the comparison carries a note of reproach and sorrow. Kin are expected to be a refuge for one another, so harm from within the family is portrayed as unnatural, self-destructive and especially bitter.

Use it to comment on relatives who wound or undermine one another through insults, gossip, disputes or harmful acts. It works as a rueful or critical aside when family members turn on each other instead of standing together. Its sense is tied to kinship, not unrelated rivals.