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A new thread in Offtopic category!
I am interested in proverbs and sayings in other languages.
We may use different phrases to mean same thing, and use same phrases to mean different thing.
Let's introduce our own languages' proverbs each other.
I have three proverbs here:
Original: 石橋を叩いて渡る / Ishibashi o tata'ite wataru
Translation: To hit a masonry bridge before crossing.
Meaning: To be so careful or cautious, sometimes excessively.
Why it means so: A cautious parson wants to make sure that a bridge won't fall down though the stone bridge looks very tough.
Original: 藪を突いて蛇を出す / Yabu o tsutsu'ite hebi o dasu
Translation: To prod a thicket only to waken a snake.
Meaning: To do something unnecessary which causes some danger or accident.
Original: 情けは人のためならず / Nasake wa hito no tame narazu
Translation: Kindness doesn't help others. (Is this translated correctly?)
Meaning: You should be nice to others because your kindness will be passed from one to another, and come back to you someday.
Note: Some Japanese misunderstand that it means "You should NOT be nice to others because it will make him a chairwarmer at last".
I've always been fond of malaphors
"Kill two stones with one bird"
Stems from the phrase "Kill two birds with one stone" for an extremely lucky action.
"Cry me a table"
Stems from the phrase "Cry me a river" which means to allow someone to cry without offering sympathy because you do not sympathize with their upset-ness.
Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!
Is malaphor a kind of wordplay or joke? Anyway that's interesting.
By the way, "Kill two birds with one stone" has been translated into Japanese; we say simply "One stone, two birds (一石二鳥)". And we sometimes say "One stone, three birds", "One stone, four birds"…
Original: 覆水盆に返らず / Fukusu'i bon ni ka'erazu
translation: Spilt water never returns to the pot.
Meaning: "It is no use crying over spilt milk."
This one came from Chinese historical event and imported to Japan.
"Quien a hierro mata, a hierro muere"
I don't know how to translate it properly, but the english has an equivalent proverb: "He who lives by the sword will die by the sword". Those who kill violently will die violently.
"Cría fama y échate a dormir"
"Breed fame and go to sleep". Once you've become famous, you don't have to do anything to get approval. So become famous.
"Échate a enfermar y verás quién te quiere y quién te quiere mal"
Get sick and you'll see who cares for you and who gives you a kick. Ouch, I don't know how to translate the rhyme. In times of need is when you recognize who appreciate you and who are not true friends. This saying is very unusual.
PD: In spanish, we say "Dos pájaros de un tiro" (two birds in a shot).
Quien a hierro mata, a hierro muere
He who lives by the sword will die by the sword
I like this one.
And we have similar proverb in Japanese:
Original: 人を呪わば穴二つ/ Hito o norowaba ana futatsu
Translation: When you will curse someone, there needs to be two pits.
Meaning: If you will curse someone and prepare a grave for him, you should dig another one for yourself. Don't inflict harm on others, or it will return to you.
Here, "pit" is a burial pit.
Uuuh nice thread.
Original: Meglio soli che mal accompagnati
Meaning/translation: Better (to be) alone than with a bad companionship
Original: Chi dorme non piglia pesci
Translation: He who sleeps won't catch any fish
Meaning: The lazy people will accomplish nothing
Original: Il dentista mangia con i denti degli altri
Translation: The dentist eats with other people's teeth
Meaning: The dentist, whose job is to cure other people's teeth, eats with the money that he earns by doing so
Original: Ecco il vezzo più italiano, lamentarsi e far baccano
Meaning/translation: Here's the most italian perk, to complain and to make a great noise
-LofB
I love the idea.
Original : Ventre affamé n'a pas d'oreilles.
Translation : Starving stomach has no ears.
Meaning : If you're hungry, you can't think properly.
Original : Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué.
Translation : Don't sell the bear's skin before you killed him.
Meaning : You shouldn't celebrate a victory while you're still working for it.
Original : Avoir des oursins dans les poches.
Translation : To have sea urchins in the pockets.
Meaning : Being stingy.
Original : Avoir midi à sa porte.
Translation : Having noon at the doorstep.
Meaning : Judging a situation with only your point of view.
Original : Tomber de Charybde en Scylla.
Translation : To fall from Charybdis to Scylla.
Meaning : Escaping a bad situation to encounter a worse.
PD: Surprinsingly, the french equivalent of "Two birds, one stone" says nothing about birds. For us it's only "D'une pierre, deux coups" meaning "From one stone, two strikes".
Original : Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué.
Translation : Don't sell the bear's skin before you killed him.
Meaning : You shouldn't celebrate a victory while you're still working for it.
We have a proverb with similar phrase and different meaning:
Original: 捕らぬ狸の皮算用 / Toranu tanuki no kawa zan'yo'u
Translation: (To take) raccoon dog's skin into consideration before catching him.
Meaning: To think as if you earned a profit though you have not yet gained it, consider it as your profit, and then make a plan (especially, to purchase something).
We have something like it, too!
Original: 떡 줄 사람은 생각도 않는데 김칫국부터 마신다.
Translation: Sipping kimchi soup before any promise to be given a rice cake.
Meaning: Thinking an action as already promised while the one who is actually in charge of the action has no stomach for it.
Here's some german ones:
Original: Wer im Glashaus sitzt, soll nicht mit Steinen werden.
Translation: Who sits in the Greenhouse shouldn't throw stones.
Meaning: That you shouldn't talk badly about someone because of something they've done, when you yourself have done the same thing.
Original: Da warst du noch in Abrahams Wurstkessel.
Translation: Back then you still were in Abrahams sausage-cauldron.
Meaning: That it happened before you were born.
Note: It comes from the bible, from a mention of "Abrahams loins". So yes, sausage-cauldron implies exactly what you think.
Original: Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.
Translation: I understand only train station.
Meaning: This sentence is uttered when someone talks about or explains something, but you have no idea what he means.
Original: Sie hat ihm Hörner aufgesetzt.
Translation: She put horns on him.
Meaning: That a wife cheated on her husband. Tho interestingly, theres not an exact genderswitched version of this.
Original: Ich kam dazu wie die Jungfrau zum Kind.
Translation: I got that like the virgin got her child.
Meaning: Coming into something without knowing why or doing anything.
Original: In China ist ein Sack Reis umgefallen.
Translation: A bag of rice fell over in china.
Meaning: That you don't at all find interesting what someone is telling you.
Original: Sie hat ihm Hörner aufgesetzt.
Translation: She put horns on him.
Meaning: That a wife cheated on her husband. Tho interestingly, theres not an exact genderswitched version of this.
Hey, we say the same thing ! But in French it doesn't only mean she cheated on him, it also means he doesn't know it yet.
Original: 火のないところに煙は立たぬ
Translation: No smoke will rise from where no fire is.
Meaning: Rumor is always based on the fact or the evidence.
Here, "smoke" is a metaphor for a rumor, and "fire" is the fact or, at least, a kind of evidence.
Original: 二階から目薬
Translation: Eye-drops from the second floor.
Meaning: If you are applying eye-drops from the second floor, you are doing something in a roundabout or ineffective way.
Original: 灯台下暗し
translation: It is dark underneath a light stand.
Meaning: It is difficult to see what is nearby yourself. You may miss something important even if it is nearby yourself.
Note: If you google images of "灯台", you may see buildings to lighten sea for ships, but here it means a kind of an oil lamp which has a leg.
Original: 釈迦に説法
Translation: To teach Buddhism to the Buddha.
Meaning: This is a metaphor for stupid act of teaching something to someone who knows it better than you.
Original: Entre chien et loup.
Translation: Between dog and wolf.
Meaning: We use it to talk about the time when you can't really say if it's day or night. It's either dawn or dusk.
Original: Passer du coq à l'âne.
Translation: Going from rooster to donkey.
Meaning: Jumping from a subject to another without any coherent transition.
Original: Tirer le Diable par la queue.
Translation: Pulling the Devil by the tail.
Meaning: I still don't get why, but it actually means "having difficulties to live at your own expense".
