ILLUSTRATIONS Leandro Lassmar
1. “The devil’s favorite piece of furniture is a long stool”
Original Des Teufels liebstes Möbelstück ist die lange Bank
Country Germany
It is a criticism of idleness or laziness — in the original language, the bench is the one in squares and gardens, good for lying down. The phrase is probably derived from the German expression «to put (something or someone) on the long bench», which means to cancel, postpone, lose interest.
2. “Many little streams make a big river”
Original Mange bække små gør en stor å
Country Denmark
Depending on the circumstances, it can be equivalent to three Brazilian folklore phrases: “Unitedness makes strength”, “Slowly one goes a long way” or “It’s the drop of water” (that moment when several small attitudes accumulate and the last one generates a big conflict)
3. “He who has never been burned by the sun does not know the value of the shadow”
Original Güneste yanmayan gölgenin kiymetini bilmez
Country Türkiye
In a country whose average maximum temperature in certain regions can reach 39 °C, this particularly “sunny” metaphor reminds us that we only tend to appreciate something when we lose it (or when we need it).
4. “Those who don’t know where they came from will never find their destiny”
Original Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan, hindi makakarating sa paroroonan
Country Philippines
It could be in a lyric by Chitãozinho and Xororó, but it’s just a salawikain, traditional type of Filipino saying with a strong moral and philosophical charge. Learn: without knowing your roots, you will not know how to determine your life mission
5. “The teacher opens the door; you enter alone
Country China
Are you doing poorly at school? For the Chinese, there is no point in blaming others: it is the student’s responsibility to delve deeper into the teachings. In the original language, the phrase alludes to Buddhism: the master can even introduce the precepts of the religion, but the daily practice is up to the disciple
6. “Too much work and too little play makes Jack a boring boy”
Original All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
countries USA and UK
No, the phrase typed by Jack Nicholson in The illuminated it was not an invention of the film’s script. It dates back to the work of the sage Ptah-Hotep, in ancient Egypt, and was cataloged in England in the 17th century. The message is straightforward: those who only work without relaxing bore themselves and others
7. “The cat goes so far to the bacon that she leaves her paw”
Original Tanto va la gatta al lardo, che ci lascia lo zampino
Country Italy
In other words: whoever does something wrong, sooner or later will be found out. The verb lasciare It can also mean “leave behind” or “lose”. Therefore, the feline may have become one-legged—akin to the proverb “Curiosity killed the cat”
8. “In the wolf’s mouth!”
Original In mouth to lupo!
Country Italy
It is a wish for good luck. The origin is hazy: it may be linked to Romulus and Remus, the “mythological founders” of Italy, who would have been nursed by a she-wolf; or the custom of displaying the skin of wolves as a sign of good omen in rural villages. Another Italian expression for luck is “In the whale’s anus!” (but using a certain expletive…). It harks back to the biblical tale of Jonah and the whale.
9. “Whoever becomes a sheep ends up being devoured by the wolf”
Country Greece
It is a tragic mixture of our expressions “Mary goes with the others” and “Wolf in sheep’s clothing”. For the Greeks, those who let themselves be blindly guided by a wrong leader (or with bad intentions) are inevitably manipulated and do badly.
10. “As we speak of the wolf, the wolf appears at the door”
Original Mi o vuku, a vuk na vrata
Country Croatia
Be careful when gossiping about someone, as the victim can suddenly emerge. (In Brazil, we use a more Catholic metaphor: “Speaking of the devil, he appears.”) The proverb can also be used when an imagined situation turns out to be true.
11. “Even if the baboon wears a gold ring, he is still an ugly thing”
Original Al dra `n bobbejaan `n goue ring, bly hy nog `n lelike ding
Country South Africa
It is a warning about how appearances can be deceiving — a much more curious and rustic version of our “All that glitters is not gold”. Afrikaans is the main South African language, a mix of Dutch with local dialects
12. “In the absence of thrushes, blackbirds are eaten”
Original Faute de grives on mange des merles
Country France
Grives It is merles they are species of game birds of the same family, without immediate translation into Portuguese (“thrush” and “blackbird” are approximations). But the saying itself has something similar in our language: “He who does not have a dog hunts like a cat”. In other words, be content with what is available.
13. “Play the violin for the buffalo to hear”
Country thailand
Instead of avoiding “Giving pearls to pigs” (or attention to those who don’t deserve it), the Thais choose carefully which animal deserves to hear music. “Violin” is an adaptation: the original text cites the saw ulocal instrument made from coconut, also played with a bow
14. “Feed a dog for three days and he will be grateful for three years. Feed a cat for three years and it will forget about it in three days.”
Country Japan
The proverb discusses one of the most important values in Japanese culture: gratitude (in this language, a single ideogram represents the concept of favor and obligation). He teaches that we should always be grateful and return courtesies
15. “Defend me from chickens, I’m not afraid of dogs”
Country Romania
You know the saying “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”? It would be something along those lines. The dogs represent the declared enemies and the chickens are those false friendships, whose betrayal we don’t even imagine.
16. “From Spain, neither good wind nor good marriage”
Country Portugal
The phrase has a cultural explanation (the eternal feud between the Iberian nations) and also a geographical and historical one. Indeed, the currents that arrive in Portugal from Spain are drier and more rigorous than those that come from the Atlantic. And marriages between nobles in these countries were rarely smooth — see Carlota Joaquina and Dom João VI
17. “The carpenter’s door is loose”
Country Egypt
In Brazil, the blacksmith’s house has a wooden skewer. But when the Egyptians want to refer to people who do not apply their professional knowledge in their personal lives, they appeal to this proverb, which comes from a regional fable.
18. “Hunger is not your aunt, she will not bring you a pie”
Country Russia
Gee, these Russians have very unnatural aunts! In fact, they want to warn that in times of trouble, you have to help yourself. They also use the shortened version “Hunger is not your aunt” when they want to introduce some serious subject into the conversation.
19. “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes”
Original Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder
Country Sweden
Any weather or temperature is acceptable as long as you have the right clothes. Therefore, everything in life is a matter of adapting. The saying also exists in English and was used by Charles Dickens in the novel Dombey and son
20. “When the devil has nothing to do, he kills flies with his tail”
Original When the devil doesn’t have what to do, with the tail kills flies
Country Spain
O refrain, as the Spaniards call proverbs, is a critique of idleness and the occasional useless activities it provokes. In the Brazilian version, the devil also appears: “Cabeça (or mind) empty, workshop of the devil”
21. “Don’t go to Tula with your samovar”
Country Russia
It would be something like our “Don’t bring cake to the party”, that is, don’t do something unreasonable or useless. The city of Tula, 193 km from Moscow, is famous for making the best samovars (a kind of traditional kettle) from all over Russia. In England, they say “Do not take coal to Newcastle”, a large coal hub in the north of the country
22. “Often beautiful nuts have an ugly core”
Original Oft hafa fagrar hnetur fúinn kjarna
Country Iceland
Poor Icelanders: that hard work to open a nut… and discover a rotten filling. In Brazil, the alert for external beauty addresses another food, more closely linked to the Lusitanian tradition: “On the outside, beautiful viola. Inside, moldy bread”
SIMILAR SAYINGS AROUND THE WORLD
Proverbs already existed in antiquity. The first records are in Apophthegmata Laconica, Spartan collection attributed to Plutarch. According to Deonísio da Silva, a doctor in languages from USP, it is common for some to appear in several languages: “It was a consequence of the expansions of the Roman Empire in antiquity; and the Portuguese, Spanish and British, during the Great Navigations”. This only reinforces that, regardless of the local culture, some of the human experiences and feelings are truly universal. Check out three examples:
“Talk is silver, silence is gold”
In japanese “Not to speak is a flower”
also exists in German, Spanish and English
“A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush”
in Croatian Bolje vrabac u ruci, nego golub na grani (“Better a sparrow in the hand than a pigeon in the branches”)
also exists inEnglish, German and Italian
«Given horse you don’t look at the teeth»
In Italian A caval donato non siguarda in boca (idem)
also exists in English, French and German
SOURCES Books European Proverbs in 55 Languagesby Gyula Paczolay, and Proverbs in Ten Languagesby EB Mawr, and websites Instituto Cervantes, Chinese to Learn, Rawlangs It is Babel