Talk:Afghan proverbs

Light

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وينه په وینه نه پاکيږي -
 * Transliteration: "Vina pa vina na pakezhi"
 * English Translation: Blood Can't wash Blood. or Revenge can't repair the damage
 * "...however strong your armies may be, you will always need the favour of the inhabitants to the possession of a province."
 * Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince (1532), published posthumously

A

 * از بد بدتر شد
 * Transliteration: "Az bad badtar shud!"
 * English Translation: It got worse than bad!


 * از بد بدتر اش توبه
 * Transliteration: "Az bad bad'taresh toba."
 * English Translation: Fear the worst.


 * از آدم بیکار خدا بیزار
 * Transliteration: "Az adam-e bekar khoda bezar."
 * English Translation: Even God is fed up of workless(lazy} people.

B

 * با چل چل سگ دریا مردار نمیشود
 * Transliteration: "Ba chal-chale saggh darya mordar namaisha."
 * English Translation: The river won't get dirty just by the leap of a dog.


 * باری کج به منزل نمی رسد
 * Transliteration: "Bar-e kajj ba-manzel na-merasad."
 * English Translation: A tilted load won’t reach its destination.


 * باحلوا گفتن دهان شیرین نمی شود
 * Transliteration: "Ba halwa goftan dahan shirin namishawad."
 * English Translation: The mouth can not taste sweet just by speaking sweetly.


 * با ماه نیشینی ماه شوی، با دیگ نیشنی سیاه شوی
 * Transliteration: "Ba mah nesheen mah shawe -- ba deg nesheni siah shawe."
 * English Translation: If you sit with the moon, you will become like the moon. If you sit beside a cooking pot, you will become black.
 * English Equivalent: A man is known by the company he keeps.


 * بعد از هر تاریکی روشنایی است
 * Transliteration: "Ba'd az har tariki, roshanai ast."
 * English Translation: After every darkness is light.

G

 * گل پشت و روی ندارد
 * Transliteration: "Gul pusht o rui na-dara."
 * English Translation: The flower has no front or back.

H

 * هرسخن جایی و هرنقطه مکانی دارد
 * Transliteration: Har sokhan jayee va har noqta makani darad."
 * English Translation: Every word has a place and every dot a coordination.


 * هر جای که سنگ است, به پای بز لنگ است
 * Transliteration: "Har jaye ke sang as, ba pai e boz e lang as."
 * English Translation: Every rock strikes the feet of disabled goat.

J

 * جنگل که در گرفت، تر و خشک میسوزد
 * Transliteration: "Jangal ke dar greft, khushk wa tar mesoza."
 * English Translation: If a forest catches fire, both the dry and the wet will burn.


 * جوینده یابنده است
 * Transliteration: "Joyenda yabenda st."
 * English Translation: The seeker is a finder.

K

 * کرم خوده ده بین مار ها دیده میگه ما مارها کجا میریم
 * Transliteration: "Kirm khoda da bain mar ha deeda mega ma mar ha kuja mereem."
 * English Translation: Worm has seen itself among snakes and says where do we snakes go

M

 * مثل بلبل شیرین گپ میزنی
 * Transliteration: "Mesl-e bulbul gap ha ye shirin mezani."
 * English Translation: You talk sweet like the bulbul bird.

N
Note: This is a literal translation and has nothing to do with a slit open forehead. Means: You are happy when you have no worries...in other words when you have food in your tummy, you are happy.
 * نان وپیاز، پیشانی باز
 * Transliteration: "Nan o pyaz? peshani waz!"
 * English Translation: Bread and onion but an open forehead!
 * نظافت نصف ایمان
 * Transliteration: "Nizafat nisf iman ast."
 * English Translation: Cleanliness is half of faith. (Cleanliness is next to godliness.)


 * نزن به دروازه کس به انگشت که به دروازه ات میزنند به مشت
 * Transliteration: "Nazan ba darwazayi kas ba angusht ki ba darwazahat mezanan ba mosht."
 * English Translation: Don't hit someone's door by finger because your door will be punched.

P

 * پنج انگشت برادر است برابر نیست
 * Transliteration: "Panj angusht bradar as, barabar nes."
 * English Translation: Five fingers are brothers but are not equals.

Q

 * قطره قطره جمع شود دریاشود
 * Transliteration: "Qatra qatra jam shawad daria shawad."
 * Scots Equivalent: Mony a mickle, maks a muckle.
 * English Equivalent: Look after the pennies and the Pounds (currency) look after themselves.

R

 * رحم ازبک، قهر افغان
 * Transliteration: "Rahm e Uzbek o qahre afghan."
 * English Translation: Mercy of an Uzbek; torture of an Afghan.


 * روباه را وقتی شکار گوه میگیرد
 * Transliteration: "Robara wakhte shikar go migrra."
 * English Translation: Fox feels shiting just before hunting.

S

 * سال نیکو از بهارش پیداست
 * Transliteration: "Sal-e neko az baharesh paeda ast."
 * English Translation: A good year is determined by its spring.


 * صد زدن زرگر یک زدن آهنگر
 * Transliteration: "Sad zadan zargar yak zadan ahangar."
 * English Translation: Goldsmith hits 100 and blacksmith one.


 * صدای دول از دور خوش است
 * Transliteration: "Sadayi dool az door khosh ast."
 * English Translation: "The sound of drum is pleasant from a far distance"


 * سری کل کلای پخمل
 * Transliteration: "sare kal kholay bakhmal"
 * English Translation: "a bald head and a velvet hat, meaning a bald head does not deserve such a fine cloth"

T

 * تا شمال نشود شاخه تکان نمی خورد
 * Transliteration: "Ta shamal na-shawad, shakha shor na-mekhura."
 * English Translation: As long as there is no wind, the tree won’t blow.


 * تاوقتی که ریش دنیا به تشویش تاوقتی که پکول همه گرنگ و گول
 * Transliteration: "Ta wakht-e rish, dunya ba tashwish. ta wakht-e pakul, ama ganz o gul."
 * English Translation: As long as the beard exists, the world clenches its fists. As long as the pakul hat exists, the world stutters in fits.
 * Notice: This is not really a proverb in Afghan literature or history, it exists during civil war which had happened in the last few years, mainly when Mujahidin groups got the power to rule the country.

U

 * عقل مند را اشار ه کا فی است
 * Transliteration: "Aqelmand ra eshara kafee ast."
 * English Translation: A sign is enough for the wise man (in order to understand something)

W
Without seeing the water, don’t take off your shoes آب را نادیده موزه کشیدن خطاست

Y

 * یک روز دیدی دوست، روزی دیگر دیدی برادر
 * Transliteration: "Yak roz didi dost, roze dega didi bradar."
 * English Translation: The first day you see a friend; the next day, a brother.