TURKISH PROVERBS

A gold sword opens an iron door.

A whole is better than a half.

A horse leaves the ring behind when it dies, but the hero leaves glory.

Anyone can make a spoon, but not everyone can make the handle.

Chickens do not drink on rainy days.

Children are the fruits of a home.

Children pick up habits from one another.

Do as the imam says, not as he does.

Do not smell the rose out of gratitude or the thorns will prick you.

Do not speak out of turn.

Feed a crow and it will pluck out your eyes.

He who earns little earns a lot, he who earns a lot earns nothing.

Flowers make spring lovely.

He who eats honey eventually gets sick of it.

He who falls from a horse does not die, but he who falls from a donkey does.

He who is no use to his father is no use to anyone.

He who spends little in days of plenty, will spend much in days of want.

If a fool has a lot of grease he will wipe it on his beard.

If the patient survives, he will oppose the doctor.

If you do it, so will your livestock, and that is how we progress.

If you have a thousand horses ride and rest, if one have only one, get off and rest.

If your enemy is an ant, you be an elephant.

Intelligence is the capital of the young man.

It is easy to take, but hard to pay.

Make hay while the sun shines.

May 6 is the beginning of summer, its storms last for seven days.

May your blood boil in August, but your cooking pot in winter. Mistaking a white dog for a sheep.

No good comes of a woman who rises after her husband. Problems stay with those who hide them.

More haste, less speed.

Some people spoil the vineyard, others the vegetable garden. Some problems are bigger than giants.

The cowardly chicken pretends to be a rooster.

The bride mounted on a camel, see where her destiny lies.

The female bird builds the nest.

The heart does not mind if the eye does not see.

The property of one who weeps is of no use to one who laughs.

The rose that blooms early soon fades.

The sea turned into yoghurt, but there was no spoon to eat it with.

The sword you cut bread with will not cut anything else.

There can be little peace in poverty.

There can be no mountain without mist, and no man free of error. There is darkness at the bottom of the candle.

There is no smoke without fire.

This world is a building with two doors.

Worry fills you up, but pain makes you hungry.

You can find no pomegranates on a willow tree, nor shame in the wicked.

You can tell a hungry man by his cheek, and a thirsty one by his lips.

You don�t get black lips if you don�t kiss an Arab�s hand.

Back to Homepage