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As we have so many different nationalities over here this should be fun. Post a proverb from your country, first in your native language and then in english. The next poster posts a proverb from his language that means exactly the same, and posts a new one.
I'll kick off;
Beter een vogel in de hand dan tien in de lucht.
One bird in the hand his better then ten in the air.
A bird in the hand is worth ten in the bush.
or something like that anyway :stupido:
// slaps Lancelot, there are rules
give me a new proverb damnit.
Its two in the bush rather than ten.
"All's fair in love and war"
Het doel heiligt de middelen.Quote:
Originally Posted by English assassin
Results justify methods applied (not the best translation)
Wie zijn billen brand moet op de blaren zitten.
He who burns his ass will have to sit on the blisters.
That would be something like "If you make your bed, you lie in it", but I think i like the Dutch version.
"Its an ill wind that blows nobody good"
// Throws in towel :san_cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by English assassin
Explain that one to me please.
"Its an ill wind that blows nobody anygood"
The meaning is that there is news which is bad for everyone, news of war for example, basically no good's going to come of it for anyone.
How about....
"A new broom sweeps clean, but the old brush knows all the corners."
Op een oude fiets moet je het leren.Quote:
Originally Posted by Prodigal
Best to learn on an old bike.
Wie wind zaait zal storm oogsten.
He who plants(sp? when you put seeds in the ground) wind will harvest storm.
prodigal is right but his explaination might give a misleading impression when you would say it. For instance, if the newspaper headline the day after the gunfight at the OK Corale was "Huge Gunfight: many cowboys dead" and you turned to page 2 to read "Undertakers report record business" you might say "Well, its an ill wind that blows nobody good"
In other words you say it when someone has somehow managed to make a profit out of news that seemed bad for everyone.
Baad avordera baad mibarad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fragony
The wind will take one who came with wind
Az soorakh-e-soozan dar meereh, valy tooyeh darvazeh geer meekoneh.
He can go through the eye of a needle, but he can't enter the gates.
Hij heeft de klok horen luiden maar weet niet waar de klepel hangt.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dâriûsh
He has heard the bells but can't find the clapper.
Wat je niet wilt dat jou geschied, doe dat ook een ander niet.
Don't do to others what you wouldn't want to be done to you.
Gør kun mod andre, hvad du vil have andre skal gøre mod dig.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fragony
Do only to others, what you want others to do to you.
Man skal ikke kaste sten når man selv bor i et glashus.
Don't throw rocks when you, yourself live in a house of glas.
De pot verteld de ketel dat hij zwart ziet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sjakihata
The can tells the kettle it looks black.
Het bloed kruipt waar het niet gaan kan.
The blood crawls where it cannot go.
Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread. :san_grin:
//slaps InsaneApache; You english! Since english is your mother tongue one
would expect that you are able to read it by now.
There are rules :san_angry: Be nice and post proverb.
It IS a proverb. It means impetuous people will do things that would make God balk.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fragony
Heh, is it me or did this just morph into the "wind up Fragony" thread?
Frag, you should know that in England "rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools"
To do that start about tollerance and other kinds of hippie crap :san_wink:Quote:
Originally Posted by English assassin
OK! Here is another one.
In het land der blinden, is éénoog koning.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed is king.
"A fo ben, bid bont"
He who would be a head let him be a bridge
"Gwell aderyn mewn llaw na dau mewn llwyn"
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush :san_grin:
"Haws dywedyd mawr na gwneuthur bychan"
It is easier to say much than do a little
:san_angry:
"Gwell dysg na golud"
Better learning than wealth
:san_sad:
"Tuli on hyvä renki,mutta kauhea isäntä"
fire is a good servant,but a terrible master.
frag weet jij daar een nl spreekword voor...ik niet
verkoop de huid niet voor je de beer geschoten heb
dont sell the hide before you shot the bear (translation
dont promise anything before youre sure you can do it/prove it/realise it
Bang van niet, het is duidelijk dat het te maken heeft met het gegeven dat geweld zich tegen je kan keren, maar ik kan geen enkel nederlands voorbeeld zo uit mijn hoed toveren. Misschien weet een van de andere kaasjes een mooie want het lijkt me sterk dat we niet iets soortgelijks in ons arsenaal hebben.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Stranger
edit: wacht eens, 'wie wind zaait zal storm oogsten' komt aardig in de buurt!
Ah, that would be "don't count your chickens before they are hatched."
Here's another: "The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley" (=often go wrong, do I get a bonus for posting in scots?)
a writers ink lasts longer than a martyrs blood
...sorry i can't speak old irish but thats where dis prover originates.
eh nee nie helemaal das meer wat je 1 keer vervelend doet moet je verwachten dat je 10 keer vervelend terugkrijgt...het is meer vanQuote:
Originally Posted by Fragony
je moet het op de harde manier leren
and
ENGLISH ASSASSIN
im afraid i dont get that
MASTER
de pen is machtiger dan het zwaard
the pencil is more powerful then the sword
wie een kuil graaft voor een ander valt er zelf in
who digs a trap for sombody else will fall in it himself
Je moet geen 'hei' roepen voordat je de brug over bent. <---best I could doQuote:
Originally Posted by English assassin
Don't yell victory before you crossed the bridge.
Vuur met vuur bestrijden.
combat fire with fire.
Ik denk het niet, vuur is altijd een symbool geweest van geweld, dus als je geweld te vaak toepast dan heb je het niet meer onder controle.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Stranger
denk ik :)
oog om oog tand om tand
eye for an eye
meer wegen leiden naar rome
more roads lead to rome
The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley
Bold is the English part of that. You have three Scots words so I vote no for your extra points.
often go arwyQuote:
Originally Posted by Taffy_is_a_Taff
Never trust the man who tells you all his troubles but keeps from you all his joys
Texan Proverb
Quote:
Originally Posted by strike for the south
Ooooh, that's a good one. :yes:
Is it permissable to post the proverb in ones regional accent old bean?
If it is then may I offer this.
'Ere all, see all, say nowt
Eat all, sup all, pay nowt.
An' iv tha eva dus owt fur nowt,
Than duit fer tha sen.
Hear all, see all, say nothing.
Eat all, drink all, pay nothing.
If you ever have to do a task for no renumeration, then above all make sure it's on your own behalf.
:san_kiss:
IA:
do you talk like that?
I think it's excellent if you do (because Yorkshire's the best part of the North which is the best part of England).
ill see if i can dig up some nice african ones
i always like eastern and african proverbs
but for now a dutch one
een zwaluw maakt nog geen zomer
one swaluw (sp?) doesnt make a summer
example...winning one battle doesnt mean you won the war
what strikes me is that so many of the north western European proverbs are the same. Admittedly there's some groovy unusual ones from this area but there is a heap of common ones.
Nah then, aye lad ah dus tork leight that, but tha's a wurry, ahh's cum fom Manchester...Quote:
Originally Posted by Taffy_is_a_Taff
so I am corrupted northerner......*hangs head*
but hey if yall loike callin than iol giyya a chipoil suppa..
(please forgive me the tykes on here :san_grin: I was made to talk...honest guv:san_laugh: )
Viva Lancashire :knight: :san_smiley:
God's honest truth, I've only ever driven through Lancashire so I suppose my assesment was unfair. So far I like Yorkshire the best with Tyneside a close second as far as England goes.
After Eating An Entire Bull,
A Mountain Lion Felt So Good
He Started Roaring.
He Kept It Up Till A Hunter
Came Along And Shot Him.
The Moral:
When You're Full Of Bull,
Keep Your Mouth Shut.
Another TEXAN proverb
Before you start up a ladder, count the rungs.Quote:
After Eating An Entire Bull,
A Mountain Lion Felt So Good
He Started Roaring.
He Kept It Up Till A Hunter
Came Along And Shot Him.
The Moral:
When You're Full Of Bull,
Keep Your Mouth Shut.
Another TEXAN proverb
A narrow neck keeps the bottle from being emptied in one swig.
"i've never [copulated] with a 10, but i once [copulated] with five 2s"
it means you can make up with in profligacy, for what you lack in ability.
another word is used for copulated in the original proverb, obviously.
"no [crap], sherlock"
"is the pope catholic?"
"does a bear [crap] in the woods?"
which all basically mean "golly, what you just said is so obvious, i will have to point it out with an equally obvious retort"
"if you miss the ball, don't miss the man"
soccer proverb saying its better to foul an attacker than have him run around you with the ball.
"Jokes, like cats, die when dissected."
-- personal motto
"you can't trust a man what's made of gas."
(you cannot trust a person that is made of gas)
-- yet another personal motto
'Wer einmal lügt, dem glaubt man nicht, und wenn er auch die Wahrheit spricht.'
He who lies once will not be believed a second time.
'Lügen haben kurze Beine.'
Lies have short legs...now, what would this be in English?
Quid
In Dutch:Quote:
Originally Posted by quid
Al is de leugen nog zo snel, de waarheid achterhaald hem wel.
As fast as a lie may be, truth always catches up.
Here's another one,
Zoals de ouden zongen piepten de jongen.
Like the old sang the young now squeel.
in ones darkest hour a candle can have the power of the sun
Personal Quote ;)
"We've howdied but we ain't shook." -- Southwestern proverb.
"We have greeted each other casually without being properly introduced." -- English translation.
"She offered her honor, he honored her offer, then the rest of the night he was on her and off her."
:san_tongue: