- English translation
One man carries his own beard, so why should someone else be the one getting tired?
- Literal wording
One is carrying his beard, and the other is tired for him?
- Meaning and lesson
The saying imagines a man bearing his own beard, a load that is his alone and no real burden. The beard is simply a plain image of something personal, not a religious or status symbol. It then asks why a bystander should feel strained by it.
In practice it criticizes people who insert themselves into business that does not involve them. They take on worry, sympathy, or effort that nobody asked for, and the proverb dismisses that interference as needless.
- When it is used
Use it as a gentle or pointed rebuke when someone fusses over, worries about, or interferes in another person's affairs that the other person is handling alone. It reminds the meddler that the matter is not theirs to carry.
Cite or copy proverb
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