- English translation
My neighbors are already rescuing me before I can even cry out for my kin.
- Literal wording
Before I say, 'O my family!', my neighbors will have come to my aid.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying claims that when trouble strikes, the people living right beside you are already helping before you can even finish calling out to your own relatives. Physical closeness, not kinship, decides who reaches you first, so neighbors become the first line of support in a crisis.
Beyond the literal scene, it is a tribute to neighborly loyalty and a reminder to value those nearby. It does not fault relatives as unwilling; they are simply farther away, so a dependable neighbor may serve you better in urgent moments than distant family, however devoted.
- When it is used
Suitable for thanking neighbors who rushed to help in an emergency, or for arguing that good relations with the people next door matter as much as family ties, since those living closest can respond first.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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