Azerbaijani proverbs
Azerbaijani proverbs are smart sayings in Azerbaijani.
Proverbs
A
Ağıl başda olar, yaşda olmaz
- Literal translation: Intelligence is in the head, not in the age
- Meaning: You do not have to be old to be intelligent
Ağac bar verəndə başın aşağı dikər
- Literal translation: Tree would bend when it bears fruit
- Moral: One should be modest even if he or becomes rich and influential
Ağıllı düşmən nadan dostdan yaxşıdır
- Literal translation: Wise enemy is better than a foolish friend
- Meaning: Foolish friends are more dangerous than an enemy who is intelligent.
B
Bilməmək eyib deyil, soruşmamaq eyibdir
- Literal translation: Shameful is not the one who doesn't know, but the one who doesn't ask
- Simple: The one who does not ask is more shameful than the one who does not know, but asks.
Bir buğda əkməsən, min buğda biçməzsən
- Literal translation: Without sowing a single wheat you would not harvest thousand ones
- Simple: One small action can help change what happens in the future.
Ç
Çox bilən quş dimdiyindən tələyə düşər
- Literal translation: Smart bird gets trapped in its beak
- Simple: People who are too intelligent may end up hurting themselves.
D
Dama-dama göl olar, axa-axa sel olar
- Literal translation: Drop by drop would make a lake, ...
- Meaning: Be patient
Dil yanılar, doğrusunu deyər
- Literal translation: Tongue may muddle up and say the truth.
Ə
Ədəb bazarda satılmaz
- Literal translation: Politeness is not sold in the bazaar
- Simple: It is not easy to be polite.
Əvvəl düşün, sonra danış
- First think, then speak
H
Halva-halva deməklə ağız şirin olmaz
- Literal translation: Mouth will not be sweet when you say "sweet"
- Meaning: Just talking won`t get the things done. In order to make your mouth sweet you should act rather than just talk.
Haram malın bərəkəti olmaz
- Literal translation: Unearned riches are unlawful or forbidden (Haram in Islamic law)
- Meaning: You will not profit from something that you obtained in an unlawful way. Sooner or later it will turn against you.
Hər ağac öz dibinə kölgə salar
- Literal translation: Every tree casts shadow on its own bottom
- Meaning: Everybody takes care of their own, a tree casts shadow only on those who are close, the rest are on their own.
K
Kiminin əvvəli, kiminin axırı
- Literal translation: Someone's end is someone's beginning
Kasıb öləndə molla xəstə olar
- Literal translation: Mollah is sick when the poor is dying
- Meaning: Nothing is done just out of simple kindness: if you`re poor and dying, even Mollah will pretend to be sick in order not to come and say the last prayer by your bed.
Kişi tüpürdüyünü yalamaz
- Literal translation: A man would not lick what he spit
- Meaning: A man should stand by his words.
Kişi sözü üzə deyər
- Literal translation: A man says his word to the face
Köpəyin qarnı tox gərək
- Literal translation: Dog has to have its stomach full
- Meaning: Treat those in your service well and they, in turn, will treat you well
Kül başıva
- Literal translation: Ash on your head.
- Meaning: Loser
M
Meşə çaqqalsız olmaz
- Forest always has its jackal
- Meaning: Seedy characters are to be found everywhere
Molladan adam, Palıddan badam!
- Literal translation: Mollah is a human, if an oak will produce an almond.
- Meaning: It`s impossible for a mollah (a priest) to be humane
O
Ot kökü üstə bitər
- Literal translation: Grass grows on its roots
R
Rəhmət düzənə, lə'nət pozana!
- Literal translation: Bless the builders, damn the slayers!
- Simple: Those who help should be praised, those who try to stop them should not.
Rəngimə bax, əhvalımı xəbər al!
- Literal translation: Look at my color (face), know my mood!
T
Tazıya tut deyir, dovşana qaç
- Literal translation: To tell the dog to catch, and the rabbit to run.
- Meaning: To play your enemies off against each other.
- Simple: To try make your enemies work against each other to gain a win for yourself.
Tez duranla tez evlənən uduzmaz
- Translation: Those who get up and marry early, achieve success.
- Idiomatic translation: The early bird catches the worm.
Y
Yetənə yetir, yetməyənə bir daş atır
- Literal translation: Overtakes whom gets, and stones whom doesn't
- Meaning: Referring to someone who harasses everyone.
Azerbaijani unknown
- A mad man drops a rock into water well, so that thousand wise men can not take it out.
- Beauty without virtue is a curse.
- Simple: Even if one is beautiful, if he or she does not have a good heart, he or she is still a bad person.
- One's own simple bread is much better than someone else's pilaf.
- Speak not of what you have read, but about what you have understood.
- Simple: Teach others what you really know and not what you just read about.
- Until spring comes, nightingales do not sing.
- Simple: Things happen only when the right time comes.