Japanese proverbs, sayings : 1. 自業自得 “One’s act, one’s profit.” Equivalent to “you reap what you sow,” this one rings way more timelessly as few are sowing these days. 2. 十人十色 “Ten men, ten colors.” Aka, “different strokes for different folks” — I prefer the image of colors to the image of folks getting stroked. 3. 起死回生 “Wake from death and return to life.” Meaning “to turn a bad or desperate situation into a success,” this truly underscores just how dire some bad situations feel sometimes. 4. 我田引水 “Pulling water to my own rice paddy.” “Doing or saying things for one’s own benefit.” While totally regionally charged, I feel like dropping this one would give you an air of well-traveled-ness. 5. 悪因悪果 “Evil cause, evil effect.” Another “you reap what you sow,” this one is a tad more specific, and almost suggests a karmic outcome. 6. 見ぬが花 “Not seeing is a flower.” I love the fact that the Japanese use “flower” to describe imagination, beauty, and sometimes pointlessness. In this case, “reality cannot compete with imagination.” 7. 弱肉強食 “The weak are meat; the strong eat.” “Survival of the fittest” — I like eating meat so this was always going to appeal to me, and it rhymes. 8. 海千山千 “Ocean thousand mountain thousand.” A reference to a “sly old fox,” someone who has been through everything and seen everything and can therefore handle any situation, usually through cunning. A thousand oceans, a thousand mountains, an ultimate badass. 9. 酔生夢死 “Drunken life, dreamy death.” Meaning to dream one’s life away, or spending all one’s time dreaming without accomplishing anything significant…at least this one seems to make light of the situation. 10. 一期一会 “One life, one encounter.” Every encounter is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter — this really underscores how many first-and-only-time things happen in the day-to-day. 11. 異体同心 “Different body, same mind.” Harmony of mind between two people — this one is a bit more literal, and a hair creepy, but I love it all the same. Sort of like “brother from another mother.” 12. 羊頭狗肉 “Sheep head, dog meat.” Meaning false advertising, or “crying wine and selling vinegar,” the image this one paints is more graphic, and therefore more powerful.
1. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." You can get better service if you complain about something. If you wait patiently, no one's going to help you. 2. "No man is an island." You can't live completely independently. Everyone needs help from other people. 3. "Discretion is the greater part of valor." Sometimes it's important to know when to give up and run away, instead of always acting brave and may be getting hurt. 4. "A watched pot never boils." If something takes time to finish, don't watch it too closely because it will seem like it's taking for ever. 5. "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." If you try to help someone, but they don't take your advice or offers, give up. You can't force someone to accept your help.
A proverb in Tamil goes like this...... PULIYA PATHU PUNA SUDE POTINDUTHAM Usually Tigers have some lines or stripes on their body, a cat trying to imitate a tiger made lines on its body with the help of hot fire. but still it can't become a tiger......... we should not compare ourselves with others & try to imitate, but be as you are.
Some proverbs With examples : 1. Absence makes the heart grow fonder – Our love for the loved ones grows more with the distance. The two brothers deeply wish to meet as they haven’t seen each other since 10 years. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder. 2. Accidents will happen in the best regulated families – Unforeseen can happen with anybody. You need to be extremely cautious with electricity – The accidents will happen in the best regulated families. 3. Actions speak louder than words – What people do shows more about them than what they just say. Hearing about her friend’s illness, she directly reached the hospital with a cheque of 50,000 Rs/-. Her concern was evident – after all, actions speak louder than words. 4. Appearances are deceptive – Internal truth of a person is usually different from what is visible outside. You should not believe strangers immediately. Appearances can be deceptive. 5. Never judge by appearances – Don’t use looks as the criteria to assess someone. I saw the CEO of a big blue chip company hanging out with his friends at a local market in casual attire. Its true that you can’t judge someone by their appearance. 6. An apple a day keeps the doctor away – An apple eaten everyday keeps you in good health. My father has always stayed in a good health with his habit of eating an apple everyday. For him, An apple a day keeps the doctor away has worked well. 7. Art is long, life is short. – Life is too short to learn all the art in this world. She always complained of getting bored. I advised her to learn some music or painting. After all, Art is long, life is short. 8. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater – Be careful to not throw away good things with bad while cleaning. She deleted some useful files also along with the useless ones while cleaning her computer. I had advised her to be careful and not throw the baby out with the bathwater. 9. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours – If you help me, I’ll help you. America is pushing the Indian government for FDI in retail. Indian government will get the foreign currency while America gets a big market for its goods. The principle is simple – You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. 10. Beauty is only skin deep – Never judge by appearance – A good looking woman may not necessarily be good by character. My daughter-in-law is very beautiful but very cunning – Beauty is only skin deep.
Swedish Proverbs We praise in order to be praised in return. Man berömmer för att bli berömd igen. A stern creditor is [often] a poor payer. En sträng krävare är [ofta] en slät betalare. I suspected this might happen, said the one that was kicked out. Det ante mej, sa han som blev utsparkad. We know others by ourselves, said the loafer about the lice. På sej själv känner man andra, sa luffaren om lössen. Let the other party be heard too (before you judge). (From Latin: Audiatur et altera pars). Må även den andra parten höras. We notice faults of others and easily forget our own. Man märker andras fel och glömmer sina egna. The damage of another is soon forgotten. Annans skada glömmes snart. Do not judge all you see, do not believe all you hear, do not do all you can, do not say all you know, do not eat all you have, let no one know what you have in your heart or in your wallet. Döm ej allt du ser, Tro ej allt du hör, Gör ej allt du kan, Säg ej allt du vet, Förtär ej allt du har, Låt ingen veta vad du har i hjärtat eller pungen. The modest one gets nothing. Den beskedlige får ingenting. He gets a tailwind who bothers to wait. Den får bör (medvind) som bida gitter. Nothing beneath the sun is lasting. Ingenting under solen är beständigt. One talks against praise in order to hear it once again Man säger emot beröm för att få höra det en gång till. A successful writer has a good memory and hopes that others do not have it. En lyckad berättare har gott minne och hoppas att andra inte har det
We may make our plans, but God has the last word. Big success depends on the heavens. If you can't change your fate, change your attitude. Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall. Anger is cruel and destructive, but it is nothing compared to jealousy. A thief's partner is his own worst enemy. He will be punished if he tells the truth in court, and God will curse him if he doesn't.
