Favorite Proverbs

Language Learning Chinese
1

Do you have a favorite Chinese proverb? Please share it.
(mouse over the lines underneath each one for spoilers)

沒吃過豬肉, 也看過 豬跑路
[color=#eeeeee]mei2 chi1 guo4 zhu1 rou4, ye3 kan4 guo4 zhu1 pao3 lu4
Even if you haven’t eaten pork, you’ve seen a pig run.
You ought to know this by now.[/color]

多年媳婦熬成婆
[color=#eeeeee]duo1 nian2 xi2 fu4 ao2 cheng2 po2
The daughter-in-law becomes the mother-in-law
Turnabout is fair play… or… watch out now.[/color]

天高皇帝遠
[color=#eeeeee]tian1 gao1 huang2 di4 yuan3
Heaven is high, and the Emporer is far
In reality our quotidian lives are not affected very much by these powers.[/color]

一黑二黃三花四白
[color=#eeeeee]yi1 hei1 er4 huang2 san1 hua1 si4 bai2

  1. black, 2. yellow, 3. spotted, 4. white
    Which color dogs make the best eating.
    Everyone here seems to know this one.[/color]
2

The heaven and emperor proverb, I thought it also has a different meaning: Because they are so far away, their reach/vigilance over you is not strong, and so you’re free [bad: to indulge in corruption, lawbreaking, pursuit of profit and power, etc.; good: to make your own choice]

3

RE: proverbs. “For a new topic, plz post a subject line”
This is a useful topic.
RE: Let the dragon enter the ocean. How would one use this saying?
. (Rong long jin hai).

4

[quote=“Shenme Niao”]Do you have a favorite Chinese proverb? Please share it.
(mouse over the lines underneath each one for spoilers)

沒吃過豬肉, 也看過 豬跑路–>沒吃過豬肉, 也看過 豬走路
Actually, “跑” means run and “走” means walk. Since we all consider pid lazy, we use the word, “走”.
By the way. “跑路” has another meaning.
[color=#eeeeee]mei2 chi1 guo4 zhu1 rou4, ye3 kan4 guo4 zhu1 pao3 lu4
Even if you haven’t eaten pork, you’ve seen a pig run.
You ought to know this by now.[/color]

一黑二黃三花四白–>Do you know how to use this proverb. I am so curious about where do you see this one.
[color=#eeeeee]yi1 hei1 er4 huang2 san1 hua1 si4 bai2

  1. black, 2. yellow, 3. spotted, 4. white
    Which color dogs make the best eating.
    Everyone here seems to know this one.[/color][/quote]
5

ren bi ren qi si ren

It’s not really my favorite. It’s the only one I know.

6

I learned a Japanese proverb a long time ago…

A well-known Hong Kong / Canadian businessmen told me the Chinese have the same proverb;

Roughly translated:

“The nail that stick out gets hammered down.”

7

“The nail that stick out gets hammered down.”

Actually, I learned that from my sensei, who also taught me another proverb the Chinese and Japanese apparently share:

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

Of course, since Sensei ran his own dojo, he also believed that

“When the teacher is ready, the students will appear.”

8

I defer to the better explanations of the pig and emporer proverbs.

I usually use the dog proverb as a joke when a dog is blocking the street. I have yet to meet a Chinese who does not know this one. But if there is a deeper meaning do let me know. It might be handy at restaurants in Guangzhou too?

What does 跑路mean?

9

I don’t know about Chinese proverbs, but an English one I like is . . .

It’s hard to see the picture when you’re inside the frame.

10

What does 跑路mean?[/quote]

We usually use 跑路 to describe that someone has lots of debts then run away. :laughing:

11

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]I don’t know about Chinese proverbs, but an English one I like is . . .

It’s hard to see the picture when you’re inside the frame.[/quote]Let me translate this into Chinese.->當局者迷

12

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]I don’t know about Chinese proverbs, but an English one I like is . . .

It’s hard to see the picture when you’re inside the frame.[/quote]
I’m up for proverbs from all lands, maybe it gets split off, anyway I like these:

Trust in Allah, but tie your camel.
-Arabic

If you get buggered once, you are a fool.
If it happens twice, you’re a f*ggot.
-Turkish

I can get you a wife.
But I can’t f*ck her for you.
-Senegalese

It is the hungry man, who speaks of bread.
-Unknown

Three things come not back:
The spoken word,
The sped arrow,
And the lost opportunity.
-Arabic

There are 3 faithful friends. An old wife. An old dog. And ready money.
-Ben Franklin

13

The horse doesn’t know that his face is long.

(And probably wouldn’t care if you told him.)

14

One Japanese proberb says that if you sit on a rock for three years, it is bound to get warm. ishi no ue ni mo san nen

15

I don’t know if I have the pinyin right but: sai wong shi ma

Mr. Sai lost his horse. It’s the beginning of a long-ish story (stop me if you’ve heard this one) wherein Mr. Sai’s horse runs away and when his neighbours commiserate with him he says “maybe bad maybe good, who knows?”

Then the horse comes back, leading another wild horse. His neighbours rejoice for him saying how lucky he now has two horses. He replies again “maybe good maybe bad, who knows?”

His son breaks his leg, and again the same gets played out, “maybe bad maybe good, who knows?” Then the army comes to town, but the son cannot be pressed into service because of his leg.

Maybe bad, maybe good. Who knows?

16

taiwanese: bat lang e sai kha phang

other people’s shit smells better (the grass is always… )

chinese: mo ming qi miao!

wtf???

17

[quote=“FearsomeOrange”]I don’t know if I have the pinyin right but: sai wong shi ma

Mr. Sai lost his horse. It’s the beginning of a long-ish story (stop me if you’ve heard this one) wherein Mr. Sai’s horse runs away and when his neighbours commiserate with him he says “maybe bad maybe good, who knows?”

Then the horse comes back, leading another wild horse. His neighbours rejoice for him saying how lucky he now has two horses. He replies again “maybe good maybe bad, who knows?”

His son breaks his leg, and again the same gets played out, “maybe bad maybe good, who knows?” Then the army comes to town, but the son cannot be pressed into service because of his leg.

Maybe bad, maybe good. Who knows?[/quote]

塞翁失馬 sai4 weng1 shi1 ma3
“Mr. Sai lose horse”

and the other half of it is:
焉知非福 yan1 zhi1 fei1 fu2
“how know not lucky?”

18

here’s a creepy one: xing shi zou rou, ‘treading body walking meat,’ I’m told it describes a person in such terrible despair that he feels like a zombie, just going through the motions of life.

19

I don’t know which is my favorite Chinese proverb but I do know the one I hate the most:

一白遮三醜 yi4bai2zhe1san1chou3
One white covers three ugliness.

Since it’s summer time, I’m getting a beautiful tan that everyone back home would be jealous of. However I’ve got well meaning people saying to me, “Wow, you’ve gone really dark. Be careful. 一白遮三醜.”

What do they mean? I’m so ugly that I need to be white to cover it? :fume:

20

Here’s my reply to religionists trying to force me into their way of thinking, from the great agnostic Confucius:

“You don’t know life. How can you know death?”

Heh. Take that, mystics and spiritualists.