Thai proverbs

Proverbs from all Thai speaking parts of the world.

กระต่ายหมายจันทร์

 * Transliteration: Kra-tie' mai jhun.
 * A rabbit aims for the moon.
 * English equivalent: Don't stretch your arms more than your sleeves can reach.
 * Meaning: Don't aim at the impossibilities; get grounded.

กันไว้ดีกว่าแก้

 * Transliteration: Gan wy dtee gwaa gae.
 * Preventive measure is better than curative measure.
 * English equivalent: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

ความลับไม่มีในโลก

 * Transliteration: Kwam lub mai mee nai loke.
 * There are no secrets in the world.
 * English equivalent: There is nothing hidden that will not become public.
 * "There are no secrets except the secrets that keep themselves."
 * George Bernard Shaw, Back to Methuselah (1921)

นานาจิตตัง

 * Transliteration: Na na jit tung.
 * All sorts of mind.
 * English equivalent: There is no accounting for taste.
 * "The true barbarian is he who thinks every thing barbarous but his own tastes and prejudices."
 * William Hazlitt, in Characteristics, in the manner of Rochefoucauld's Maxims (1823)

น้ำขึ้นให้รีบตัก

 * Transliteration: Nam khun hai reeb tak
 * When water rises, it is best to scoop it up.
 * Meaning: When there is an oppertunity for something, it is best to take it.

เพื่อนกินหาง่าย เพื่อนตายหายาก

 * Transliteration: Pheuuan gin haa ngaay pheuuan dtaay haa yaak.
 * Friends for a meal are easy to find, friends until end of life are difficult to find.
 * Meaning: It is easy to find good-weather friends in good times but hard to find real friends who stand by you in all situations of life.
 * English equivalent: Remember man and keep in mind: A faithful friend is hard to find.

เสน่ห์ปลายจวักผัวรักจนตาย

 * Transliteration: Saneh bplaay jawak phuaa rak john dtaay.
 * A husband loves the charm of the ladles tip until dying.
 * English equivaleny: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
 * Meaning: When a wife cooks well the husband will love her until the end of life.

มะพร้าวตื่นดก ยาจกตื่นมี

 * English equivalent: Set a beggar on horseback and he'll ride it to the devil.

ลิงยังตกต้นไม้

 * Transliteration: Ling yang tok ton mai.
 * Even monkeys can fall off trees.
 * Meaning: Anyone can fail.
 * English equivalent: It is a good horse that never stumbles.

타이 속담