Romanian Proverbs (001-100)

❖

By blackening another you do not whiten yourself.

No one takes money for thinking.

It is easier to watch a flock of rabbits than a woman.

The mounted man doesn't believe
the man that goes afoot.

One man laughs at another, and the devil at all.

❖

Wealth is like a pool: as soon as you dig a channel, it all runs out.

Better to be a poor man's son than the slave of a rich.

Man has both life and death.

The wet man fears no rain.

Money is round and rolls easily.

❖

Do not set the mill on fire in order to burn the mice.

Man is like sheep: one readily follows after another.

Man consecrates the land.

The egg of a white hen is the same as that of a black one.

Better a man of straw than a woman of gold.

❖

The man who goes to law often loses an ox to win a cat.

Where there is love, there is also a quarrel.

A man without enemies is like a river without stones.

Sit not idle, for your luck sits with you.

A luckless man is like incense without fire.

❖

What is born of a cat will catch mice.

Even the devil cannot escape a woman.

Money is the devil's eye.

Where there are too many midwives,
the baby is left with the umbilical cord uncut.

Better be an eagle for a day than a rook for a whole year.

❖

Woe to the house where the hen crows and the cock keeps silent.

In vain you show light to the blind.

Love beyond measure afterwards brings hatred.

Short love brings a long sigh.

The lie sinks like a plumb and comes up like a leaf.

❖

Man's life is like an egg in the hands of a child.

The looking-glass is the enemy of ugly women.

A small log will overthrow a big cart.

A well-turned lie pays better than the truth.

The locust lives only a little while, but it does great damage.

❖

A cunning person's kiss is like that of a mosquito.

Small and great, we all boil in the same caldron.

The apple falls under the apple tree.

With money one can even buy rabbit cheese.

Before giving orders learn to submit yourself.

❖

The blessing of having many children
has never broken a man's roof.

A child is a blessing for any man's roof.

A mild lamb sucks at two mothers.

The lawyers eat the kernel and the
parties the shell of the nut.

For a sackful of learning a cartful of wisdom is needed.

❖

The law turns on golden wheels.

Where there is much learning, there is much folly too.

There is no such thing as a good husband or a sweet onion.

Until the baby cries, the mother doesn't give him suck.

When the devil grew old he became a monk.

❖

Illness comes in a coach and goes away through the eye of a needle.

The intoxication of youth surpasses that of wine.

The needle is small, but it sews costly garments.

When nuns dance the devil does not weep.

The husband doesn't know what all the village knows.

❖

Justice is as the rulers make it.

Even in paradise it is not pleasant to be alone.

Cloth and a wife, choose them not at night.

The bear doesn't dance for his own pleasure.

One's home is both paradise and hell.

❖

If you are the anvil, suffer; if you are the hammer, strike.

When misfortune sleeps, beware of awakening it.

An old horse learns not to amble.

A girl's honesty is like snow: when it melts the whiteness is no longer seen.

You need not look after the hoofs of dead horses.

❖

Put not pepper in other people's meals.

A foreigner's pity is like a thorn's shadow.

Kiss the hand you cannot bite.

One has no need of a guide to the village one can see.

If a friend is honey, do not try to eat all of him.

❖

Where there is no head, woe to the feet.

He who mixes up with bran is eaten by pigs.

Good wine and a pretty wife are two sweet poisons to a man.

Crows gather where the carrion lies.

My chicken is good, but my neighbor's looks better.

❖

When the head does not work, the legs suffer.

Under a glove the ugliest hand is hidden.

Even a thread of hair has its shadow.

A foreigner scratches you where you do not itch.

When one pot hits another, both break.

❖

For a lucky man the pot boils without fire.

The cuckoo doesn't sing until he sees the buds of spring.

He who drinks on credit gets doubly drunk.

All complain of their lack of money, none of their want of brains.

See the mother, and then marry the daughter.

❖

The cuckoo sings while the lazy man sits and counts.

The dog barks at the moon all night long, but the moon never hears him.

God is great, but the devil is clever too.

A change of rulers is the joy of fools.

It is not good to be the driver of white horses
or the servant of women.

❖

Borrowed clothes do not keep one warm.

The stairs are swept downwards, not upwards.

If a dog barks at you, stop his muzzle with bread.

Right goes with a broken head.

There is some respite from a barking dog,
but never from wagging tongues.

❖

The word of slander rings like a bell.

Nakedness turns around; hunger goes straight.

Better a sound donkey than a consumptive philosopher.

Better an egg today than an ox tomorrow.

A dog doesn't enter if the door is not open.

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Romanian Proverbs (101-167)

❖

Dogs do not bark at a dead wolf.

The estimate made at home does not hold good at the market.

The pearl lies at the bottom of the sea,
while the corpse floats on the surface.

Who flatters you has either cheated you or hopes to do so.

There is no bitterer fruit than foreigners in one's land.

❖

Everything that flies is not good to eat.

One cannot make garments from cobwebs.

When the master is away the mice play on the table.

Better a crooked reconcilement than a straight judgment.

Sin enters laughing and comes out crying.

❖

The wound of a knife is easily healed,
but the wound in the heart never.

A fence with supports is not overthrown by high winds.

Even God who is God cannot please all the world.

God protect you from a woman's
judgment and a fool's thrashing.

The fox is cunning, but more cunning is he who catches it.

❖

A girl in her time is like honey in the comb.

Even God gets out of a drunkard's way.

In the house where there are two girls,
the cats die of thirst.

In a minstrel's house everyone dances.

The wet man fears no rain.

❖

When it dries up, one knows the worth of the fountain.

The dog barks at the moon all night long,
but the moon never hears him.

A dog doesn’t enter if the door is not open.

Dogs do not bark at a dead wolf.

The wind gathers the clouds and
the wind chases them away.

❖

No one throws stones at a tree without fruit.

Catch the thief before he catches you.

Thieves nowadays are not in the forests, but in the offices.

The sun rises whether the cock crows or not.

Three things are not to be lent:
the horse, the gun. and the wife.

❖

Thistle doesn't catch in smooth cloth.

A tent without a wife is like a fiddle without a string.

From the truth to a lie is but a hand's breadth.

Smoke and a scolding woman drive one out of the house.

Thieves increase with the making of new laws.

❖

The voice of the ass is not heard in heaven.

The rich man's wealth swallows the morsel of the poor.

No matter how muddy the water, it will quench the fire.

Work is a golden bracelet.

There is no wedding without laughter
and no death without tears.

❖

Water flows, the rocks remain.

Do noy send your wife alone to a wedding.

Drink the wine, but not drunk by it.

Worse than the thief himself is
the keeper of the thief.

He who burnt himself with soup
blows also in the sour milk.

❖

Work has bitter roots, but sweet fruits.

Oil the wheels if you want the cart to run lightly.

Choose a wife to please yourself, not others.

The worst wheel of a cart is the one that makes most noise.

A relative's slap hurts more than a stranger's.

❖

There is no wine without dregs.

The wolf changes his fur, but never his habits.

A woman without a husband is like a distaff without the spindle.

Wolf doesn't eat wolf.

A young woman, like new wine, bubbles.

❖

Don't sell the fox skin in the wood.

A clear sky fears not the thunder.

The word of slander rings like a bell.

Even the best of women has still a devil's rib in her.

One man's mouth destroys cities.

❖

Put not your nose in the pot which doesn't boil for you.

He who grudges the nail, loses the hoof.

A mountain does not meet another
mountain, but man meets man.

God Before you find God, you are eaten by the saints.

No sky without clouds.

❖

If a dog barks at you, stop his muzzle with bread.

Who talks, sells; who listens, buys.

❖❖❖

A barber learns to shave by shaving fools. ~ Romanian Proverb [15342]

16q, QOTD,

A great ship asks for deep waters. ~ Romanian Proverbs [15340]

16q, QOTD,

No matter how far you have gone on a wrong road, turn back. ~ Turkish Proverb, Romania [17908]

16q, QOTD,

A bad workman quarrels with his tools. ~ English & Romanian Proverb [15095]

Minnesota Historical Society
[CC-BY-SA-2.0],
via Wikimedia Commons

Notable Mention:
This proverb is used in the third season premier of Downton Abbey (S03,E01).

More English Proverbs

More American Proverbs

To see more Illustrated Proverbs click here.

16, POTD, Proverb of the Day,

An ass is but an ass, even when laden with gold. — Romanian proverb

More Romanian Proverbs

To see more Illustrated Proverbs click here.

[6104]

Justice is as the rulers make it ... and as the people allow it. ~ Romanian Proverb [19602]

Fondazione Cariplo [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

To see more Illustrated Proverbs click here.

There is no wise response to a foolish remark. ~ Romanian Proverb [18924]

The goat must browse where she is tied. ~ Romanian Proverb [18702]

When a thing is done, advice comes too late. ~ Romanian Proverb [19467]

Under a ragged coat lies wisdom. ~ Romanian Proverb [19151]

There is no going to heaven in a sedan. ~ Romanian Proverb [18954]

The anvil fears no blows. ~ Romanian Proverb [18878]

The eagle does not catch flies. ~ Romanian Proverb [18687]

Only fools are glad when governments change. ~ Romanian Proverb [18096]

By Anonymous [Public Domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

One who sits between two chairs may easily fall down. ~Russian Proverb, Romania [17998]

Long absent, soon forgotten. ~ Romanian Proverb [17672]

Knotty timber must have sharp wedges. ~ Romanian Proverb [17577]

If you wish good advice, consult an old man. ~ Romanian Proverb [17070]