Arabic traditional proverbs

Harsh words end in blows.

Offensive words can escalate into a fight, which may then bring the quarrel to an end.

After all that piping, the last thing you hear is a toot.

An activity may come to an end without producing anything useful.

Do someone a kindness, and you may get a slap in return.

Someone who has done good is repaid with harm instead of gratitude.

Acting as though I know brings trouble; “I don’t know” gives me peace.

Claiming expertise can create expectations you cannot meet. A candid admission of ignorance may spare you embarrassment or an unwanted obligation.

A tray piled with bread may escape being raided, yet even a house crowded with soldiers cannot be counted on to escape death.

Death can come suddenly, and even a large group has no assurance of surviving it.

It’s only one night; morning will bring it to an end.

Whatever happens during a brief stretch can be faced with less worry when its end is already in sight.

So cold that even Tubah’s water would seem warm.

Emphasizes that a person or thing is exceptionally cold.

A thoroughly tiresome, cold person.

Describes someone whose manner is dull and unwelcoming, making them unpleasant company.

The pitcher broke, and its spout gives it away.

An obvious clue makes the answer clear without further investigation.

The fullest jug is the quietest.

People with little knowledge or ability may make the biggest claims, while those with genuine substance have less need to boast.

Take your time so you don’t slip up.

Accuracy matters more than speed.

You think a splash of water will bother a water carrier?

An attempt to upset or harm someone is futile when it involves something they are already used to.

The scoundrel leaves nothing for the honest person.

Someone who acts without scruples takes everything worth pursuing, leaving little for someone who tries to do right.

The captain’s son adds nothing to the voyage but extra weight and another mouth to feed.

Someone who trades on a parent’s position while doing no useful work becomes a burden on the group.

A gosling knows how to swim, too.

A child may excel at something their parents do well.

He goes looking for the son he is carrying on his shoulder.

A person may be so distracted that they overlook what they are trying to find, even when it is close by.

Someone with a thousand still envies someone with just a hundred.

Greed can lead a person who has more to covet what belongs to someone with less.

A man with daughters will have the means to care for them.

The saying reassures a father that he will be able to support his daughters, rather than treating their needs as a cause for despair.

Even a dung beetle is master of its own home.

Someone looked down on by others may still feel dignity and self-worth in their own space.

Rich and poor alike end up in the grave.

Death makes no distinction between people of wealth and people of modest means.

In that crowd, you could lose sight of even your father or brother.

A gathering is so large and confused that even familiar people are hard to pick out.

My family gave me little standing, but my husband raised my status.

A woman from a humble family may gain social standing and recognition through marriage.

Well, guest, the house was never yours.

However warmly a visitor is received, that welcome does not give them the place or standing of a member of the household.

Make an owl your guide, and ruins will be your destination.

Following someone seen as ill-omened and unsound in judgment can lead to misfortune.

Let the liar go on until the facts catch up.

Instead of arguing with someone you suspect is lying, allow the claim to meet a test that may expose it.

Say something in a group, and you may soon see who bears you ill will.

The way people respond when you speak can disclose their feelings toward you, including concealed dislike.

Hone your cupping skills on orphans, who are less able to object if you make a mistake.

It condemns gaining experience by making vulnerable people bear the risks of one's mistakes.

Understand harmful practices without taking part in them.

Knowing how harm is done can help a person recognize and guard against it; that knowledge is no reason to harm others.

Save your tall tales for people who don’t know you.

False claims about oneself are harder to sustain around people who know the truth.

Za'rud found his match in Zarifa.

Two people have found one another and make a particularly fitting pair.

Feign submission until you can take charge.

When others hold power, apparent humility can serve as a tactic until one is free to pursue one’s own aims.

One unlucky soul found another.

Two people marked by similar misfortune have come together.

The payoff isn’t worth the trouble.

The benefit of an undertaking is too small to justify the effort it requires.

The tailor’s payment is secure while he holds the garment.

A claim is safer when the person owed has practical means to ensure it is honored.

Run faster and take longer strides? That would wear me out.

An objection to being asked to do more than one can manage.

Keep rushing around while someone else enjoys the comfort.

A person who does no work may benefit from someone else’s efforts.

A generous giver is worth more than the gold they give.

The generosity behind a valuable gift deserves greater admiration than the gift itself.

Prepare for headwinds, even if God sends a favorable breeze.

Plan for setbacks; preparation is not wasted when things go well.

A fool starts offering advice just when there is no time for it.

Poorly timed advice can be more of a hindrance than a help. Choosing an urgent moment to give it shows a lack of judgment.

This was between two people—where did a third come into it?

A third person is intruding into a matter that concerns only two people.

Are we reciting Sūrat ʿAbasa to you instead of talking to you?

An exasperated way to tell someone that they still have not understood a clear point after it has been explained repeatedly.

Just let me survive today, even if you kill me tomorrow.

A criticism of someone who cares only about getting through the present moment and disregards what may follow.

His sister is at the tavern, but he struts as though he were nobility.

A rebuke to someone who acts superior despite circumstances the speaker considers discreditable.

Borrowing feels good; paying it back stings.

The immediate benefit of borrowing can be more appealing than the obligation to repay.

Hold your mount back at first, and it may carry you into the lead by the end of the day.

A slower start can conserve strength and lead to a stronger finish.

Find your daughter a suitable husband before seeking a wife for your son.

Give particular care to a daughter’s marriage prospects. The saying assumes that a son has more power to leave an unhappy marriage than a daughter does.

With honest intentions, you can rest unafraid even in the wild.

The proverb encourages sincerity by presenting a clear conscience as a reason to feel unafraid.

Even a brother may wish you well without wishing you to surpass him.

Affection can have limits: someone may care about your life and welfare yet resent seeing you become more successful or independent than they are.

I’d sooner make do with a thorn for a needle than pay someone else to sew.

Use what you have and do a manageable job yourself instead of spending money unnecessarily.

If you borrow, use the money to grow a crop, not just to feed yourself.

Debt is more prudent when it supports work that may bring in enough to repay it than when it pays for something consumed at once.

In a bleak year, even the woman once overlooked can put on airs.

When better alternatives have disappeared, someone previously passed over may gain the power to make demands.

I may curse my child in anger, but I don’t want anyone else saying “Amen.”

A parent may speak harshly about a child without truly wishing them harm, and may resent anyone who takes those words to heart.

Entrust your child to someone who is a parent too.

Give a responsibility to someone whose firsthand experience helps them understand what it requires.

Confide only in someone you trust to keep your secret.

Choose a discreet person before sharing private information.

Trust the job to people who can do it well, even if they take a large share.

Skill can be worth a substantial sacrifice: a capable person may leave you with less, but an unskilled person could ruin the whole task.

I’ll take the bread, but only if it’s clean.

It mocks someone who asks for charity while making demands about what they will receive.

Let me have some wool now, even if you get a whole sheep from me tomorrow.

An immediate benefit can seem preferable to a greater one that comes later, even when choosing it makes for a poor bargain.

When trouble reaches its peak, relief may be near.

An ordeal can seem most overwhelming just before it eases. The proverb encourages hope in a difficult moment.

When good people arrive, the wicked disappear.

The upright and the corrupt do not belong together.

If it were worth keeping, the bird wouldn’t have tossed it aside.

Something discarded by one party may not be worth accepting from them.

When the table is full of different dishes, the neighbors have lent a hand.

An abundance beyond someone’s means may be possible because others have helped provide it.

Keep a donkey beside another, and sooner or later it will sound like its neighbor.

People tend to pick up habits from those they spend time with, even if they do not become alike in every way.

Tether the donkey where its owner wants it.

When handling something that belongs to someone else, follow the owner’s instructions rather than making the decision yourself. That way, if something goes wrong, the choice was not yours.

Stay away when someone else’s grain is being measured; you may end up with dust in your beard and the work of hauling it.

Getting involved in a matter in which you have no stake may bring you effort and trouble without any benefit.

A bribe can make your troubles go away.

The proverb observes that bribery can overcome obstacles and get people what they want; it does not urge them to pay bribes.

Fight someone on their own ground, and the people there may fight with them.

In a conflict, a person has an advantage in their own area because people there may come to their aid.

Farming takes more than wanting to plant; it takes grueling work.

Wanting to cultivate land is not enough. Farming demands strenuous physical effort.

If a monkey is in charge, play along while his power lasts.

When you must deal with someone in power, it may be prudent to accommodate that person’s wishes, even if you think little of them.

Ride a bachelor’s donkey and bring up marriage.

You are more likely to get what you want from someone if you speak to their interests.

Let a rooster lead the way, and you will end up where it wants to go.

A guide is likely to lead others toward their own familiar goals, so choose whom you follow carefully.

Toss him into the sea and he’ll surface with a fish to show for it.

An eager opportunist finds a way to gain something from almost any situation.

Care for someone, and they may turn around and bring you down.

Someone who benefits from your kindness may answer it with harm rather than gratitude.

Keep planting if you want to keep eating.

Regular effort provides a continuing livelihood.

Ask around before joining a family through marriage, and you’ll learn who is a good fit and who isn’t.

Find out about people before forming a close tie with them, so you can make a sound choice.

Seek advice from someone who has been through it rather than from a physician.

Personal experience can be especially valuable when someone needs practical guidance, even when an expert is available.

Ask him about his father, and he gives you his uncle’s name instead: Shuayb.

Someone answers a question with information about a different subject.

Keep your questions to your own affairs.

Concern yourself with matters that involve you rather than prying into matters that do not.

Show others warmth, and they are likely to warm to you.

Friendliness encourages a friendly response.

Put up with the fart rather than the howling.

When two unpleasant outcomes cannot both be avoided, tolerate the less troublesome one.

His name suggests a fine fragrance, but his work emptying latrines takes the shine off it.

An appealing quality can be overshadowed by an unappealing one in the same person.

Those who care about me and my children are the people I hold in the highest esteem.

Deep respect is owed to people who take your family’s troubles to heart and offer care.

He buys a dirham’s worth of dates and acts as though the neighborhood’s palm trees belong to him.

Someone uses a small possession or purchase to justify a much larger claim.

Check who your neighbors will be before you buy a home.

A home’s value depends partly on the people living nearby, so consider the neighbors as well as the property.