Proverbs Show the Essence of Words

Proverbs and sayings make one of the most diverse forms of spoken literature, which has been forming to match the progress of the nation for many years since ancient time. They have been selected and passed from generation to generation for centuries.

Proverbs and sayings bear a reflection of the national soul, temper, and everyday life; they not only present the rich national vocabulary but hold treasures which are never tarnished with time. In fact, they continuously grow more precious. It is a common fact that national proverbs and sayings present a clear image of the nation. By learning and understanding other nations’ proverbs and sayings, we not only form a deeper idea of the nation but also make a considerable contribution to our understanding of their way of thinking, mentality, and manners.

Regardless of the nation, proverbs and sayings are primarily meant to edify. Let us study the proverbs and sayings of the other ethnic groups inhabiting the Kazakh Land:

Assyrian Proverbs and Sayings

• A cow apt to butt is out of the herd.
• Every home has a king of its own.
• Every downhill is followed by an uphill.
• He who has not tried bitter things cannot appreciate sweet things.
• Full stomach sees nightmares.

                                                  Georgian Proverbs and Sayings

• Being rich is a sin in God’s face, while being poor is a sin in people’s face.
• A large sail needs strong wind to get straight.
• A rope should be long, but a speech should be short.
• Wine takes away one’s reason and wealth.
• The tree has powerful roots; the human power is friends.
• A warm word can open iron gates.
• Knowledge is more valuable than money, sharper than a sword, and more powerful than arms.
• A snake is colorful on the outside, while the man is colorful on the inside.

                                                   Dagestan Proverbs and Sayings

•  One hand is no help in holding two watermelons
• Brought with the wind is gone with the wind.
• No man repeats things twice.
• He who speaks a lot errs a lot.
• Not everybody who wears a sheepskin hat is a man.

                                                     Kalmyk Proverbs and Sayings

•  Keep your eyes shut in the land of the blind; keep your feet together in the lad of the limb.
• The falcon soars in the mountains; the child of a smart father speaks with proverbs.
• A long life is a good life; a short rest is a good rest.
• The son of the sea never dries; the son of a nation never dries.
• The river begins with a spring; a nation begins with family.

                                                    Karachay-Balkar Proverbs and Sayings

•  All are equal on a mountain peak.
• Offer treatment to one who throws stones at you.
• A Karabardin family’s guest is never hungry.
• A guest from a far land is better respected than a relative.
• Intelligence is independent of age.

                                                    Kyrgyz Proverbs and Sayings

•  Men will not make friends until they have had an argument.
• Even a dog holds its tail up high in its native village.
• If you have respect your parents, your son will have respect for you.
• Do not boast when rich; do not grieve when poor.
• Disease comes and goes; habits remain.

                                                    Korean Proverbs and Sayings

•  No new things come without old things.
• Carry your wife in your arms until the death hour.
• Spread your legs as long as your blanket is.
• No matter how old the eagle is, it is strong enough to catch a pheasant.
• Work like a bull and eat to your heart’s content.

                                                    Kurdish Proverbs and Sayings

•  Each house is as tall as it is rich.
• A merciful heart never gets old.
• If you want your son to be human, make him work as a cattle herder; bring him home unless you want him to turn into an animal.
• Women’s beauty tells in movement.
• The rose is the flower of peace – smell it and pass it on.
• There is a smile behind each tear.
• I am slave to those who reckon with me and master to those who do not.

German Proverbs and Sayings

•  A reproach expressed openly is like an axe thrown at a tree.
• Love has two daughters, Kindness and Tolerance.
• Old love is like a dry log – it catches fire easily.
• If the wind of a new low blows, the old love gets rusty.
• The brightest beauty cannot save forced love. (Love cannot be forced)
• Love kills time, and time kills love.
• The eyes are the gate of love.
• Intelligence and beauty grow on different fields.
• A man without a woman is like a head without a body; a woman without a man is like a body without a head.
• The earlier the wedding is, the longer love lasts.
• Before bringing up your daughter, bring up her mother.
• What wounds the woman’s heart is a touch upon the man’s hair.
• Women have the same purse for laughter and tears.

Tatar Proverbs and Sayings

•  The hero is born to himself and dies for his people.
• The voice of the sweetest mother-in-law sounds like a crow cawing.
• Faraway days are warmer.
• Patience is made of pure gold.
• The kindness of the graceful comes in rough time; the crime of the base  always come out of the blue.
• No gemstones lie scattered on the ground.
• If you have no food to offer to your guest, treat him to words.
• Know much and say little.

Turkish Proverbs and Sayings

•  Do not do good lest you receive harm.
• Curb your tongue at meetings and your arms hands at meals.
• There is no bringing back a stone thrown.
• Two captains sink the ship.
• A home without quarrel is like a fest without fun.
• Eat little; thank more.
• Every evening is followed by a morning.
• He who knows a lot errs a lot.
• Not every tall tree is a cypress.

Turkmenia Proverbs and Sayings

•  Avoid the man who speaks with a smile and the woman who cries.
• The poplar tree grows green without moving.
• There is no wealth without a wife and no prosperity without a son.
• Work is based on its result.
• You will realize what your parents are to you when you have children.
• A pedigreed horse is well-built; a brave man is neat.
• Fat only suits sheep.

Uyghur Proverbs and Sayings

•  Brothers who are friends have many horses; sisters who are friends have a lot of food.
• A man with no friends is like unsalted food.
• An apt hand prevents hunger.
• Every bird flies to its nest.
• Water used for a crop field is not wasted.
• One’s native land is a cradle of gold.

Ukrainian Proverbs and Sayings

•  A married woman looks smart.
• The woman who swears at you makes you older; the woman who is kind to you makes you younger.
• Beauty lasts until wedding; reason lasts until one’s head touches the ground.
• If you cannot love with your heart, words do not lie.
• Better be born lucky than beautiful.
• One’s life is just like one is.
• The beauty of a girl is like May dew.

Chechen Proverbs and Sayings

•  National unity is an unconquerable fortress.
• He who has two women needs no dog.
• A pretty girl is pretty even when she is wearing an old dress.
• Beauty lasts until evening; kindness lasts until death.

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 Source of information: “Traditions and Customs of the Ethnic Communities of Kazakhstan.” – Almaty

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