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Arabic · Arabic scriptProverb: Verified

«مِنْ طَلَبِ الزِّيَادَةْ وِقِعْ فِي النُّقْصَانْ»

Meanings

Each meaning is reviewed on its own.

Meaning: Verified
English translation

Reaching for more, he ended up with less.

Literal wording

From seeking the increase, he fell into the decrease.

Meaning and lesson

The saying traces a reversal: the very effort to gain beyond what one holds becomes the cause of losing part of it, a link carried by the opening 'min' ('from, out of'). The desire for surplus is not neutral. It exposes a person to risk, and the outcome runs opposite to the intention.

In moral terms, it warns against greed and the failure to recognize sufficiency. Contentment with a fair share is implicitly praised. Restless striving for more is shown to undercut itself, leaving the grasping person worse off than if they had stayed content.

When it is used

Suited to remarks on someone who had enough but risked it chasing extra and came away poorer, or as a warning before such a gamble. The implied subject applies to anyone. The tone is rueful or admonishing, best once the loss is apparent.

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Colloquial; the verb form and pausal endings are dialectal rather than Classical
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