ProverbHub
Arabic · Arabic scriptProverb: Verified

«اِلْعِجْبْ قَاتِلْنَا مُوشْ بِخَاطِرْنَا»

Meanings

Each meaning is reviewed on its own.

Meaning: Verified
English translation

We're dying of vanity, and we just can't help it.

Literal wording

Self-admiration is killing us, not of our own choosing.

Meaning and lesson

The saying mocks a person whose pride in themselves has grown so large that it seems to rule them. The image of being killed is hyperbole: vanity has utterly overpowered them, an overwhelming condition rather than an occasional lapse in modesty, with no literal reference to death.

Its sting lies in the mock excuse: the vain person cannot help it, because the trait feels inborn rather than deliberately chosen. This voices both criticism and resignation, suggesting that such conceit is a fixed part of character that no amount of advice is likely to cure.

When it is used

Say it wryly about someone so taken with themselves that they cannot stop showing off. Though phrased as a first-person plural confession, it usually targets another person's conceit, so the voice is ironic and mock-confessional, not sincere self-reproach. Expect it to sound teasing or reproachful.

Cite or copy proverb