«اِلشَّمَاتَه تْبَانْ فِي عِينِ الشَّمْتَانْ»

The proverb holds that private delight in an enemy's trouble cannot stay fully hidden. However carefully a person guards their words and manner, the satisfaction slips out through the eyes, where a glance or a gleam betrays what the mouth denies.

More broadly, it observes that strong feelings, especially spiteful ones, tend to overpower self-discipline. Onlookers can therefore read hostility in a face even when it is masked by polite condolence, so feigned concern rarely convinces those who watch closely.

Say it when someone claims sympathy or neutrality over a rival's setback but their face suggests quiet pleasure. It also works as a general remark that spiteful satisfaction is hard to disguise. Aimed at a specific person, it accuses them of malice and can easily land as an insult.