* "Ai carte, ai parte."
o Translation: "Knowledge is power."
* "Apa trece, pietrele rămân."
o Translation: "Water flows, rocks remain."
* "Apără-mă de găini, că de câini nu mă tem."
o Translation: "Defend me from chicken, I'm not afraid of dogs."
o Notes: This refers to people: the chicken are the mean people, the treacherous friends, the dogs are the known enemies
* "Aruncă bine în dreapta şi în stânga, şi la nevoie o să-l găseşti."
o Translation: "Throw good to your left and right, and you'll find it when you'll need it."
* "Ascultă cu urechile, vezi cu ochii, dar taci cu gura."
o Translation: "Listen with your ears, look with your eyes, but keep silent with your mouth."
* "Astăzi furi un ou, mâine furi un bou!"
o Translation: "Today you steal an egg, tommorow you steal an ox!"
o Meaning: The one who makes little bad things, can as easyly do big bad things.
* "Babă frumoasă şi sârb cuminte."
o Translation: "Beautiful old woman and wise serbian".
o Origin: Serbians fought a lot, so in Banat this proverb arose: as rare as you find a beautiful old women, as rare you will find a quiet Serb.
* "Banul este ochiul dracului"
o Translation: "Money is the devil's eye."
o Meaning: Money is the root of all evil.
* "Cine-i harnic şi munceşte are tot ce vrea. Cine fură şi nu-l prinde, are tot aşa !"
o Translation: "The one who is hardworking has everything he wants. So does the one who steals and is not caught."
o Meaning: Life is not fair.
* "Când o fi bunica fată mare!"
o Translation: "When my grandma is a virgin again!"
o Meaning: used for suggesting something impossible, something that will never happen.
* "Câinele bătrân nu latră degeaba."
o Translation: "The old dog doesn't bark without reason."
* Câinele moare de drum lung, iar prostul, de grija altuia.
o Translation: "A dog may die from too much walking, but a fool dies from worrying about someone else's business."
* "Câinii latră, caravana trece."
o Translation: "The dogs bark, the caravan goes by."
o Meaning: Don't listen to every word you hear.
* "Cine se scoală de dimineaţă departe ajunge."
o Translation: "Early risers travel farther."
* "Dacă doi spun că eşti beat, du-te şi te culcă."
o Translation: "If two people say you're drunk, go to bed."
o Meaning: If more people say you are wrong, they might be right.
* Dai un ban dar stai in faţă!
o Translation: "If you pay top dollar, you get a front row seat!"
o Meaning: "You get what you pay for."
* "Dragostea e oarbă, dar căsătoria îi găseşte leacul."
o Translation: "Love is blind, but marriage finds a cure."
* "Drumul spre iad e pavat cu intenţii bune."
o Translation: "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
o Meaning: People sometimes do all the wrong things for all the right reasons.
* Fiecare pasăre pe limba ei piere.
o Translation: "Every bird dies by its own tongue."
* Iartă pe toată lumea, numai pe tine nu!
o Translation: "Forgive everybody but yourself!"
* Iarta dar nu uita!
o Translation: "Forgive, but not forget!"
* Leneşul mai mult aleargă.
o Translation: "The lazy one always has to work more."
* Mâţa blândă zgârie rău.
o Translation: "The gentle cat scratches the worst."
* Nu da vrabia din mână pe cioara de pe gard.
o Translation: "Don't give the sparrow in the hand for the crow on the fence."
o Meaning: A bird in your hand is worth two in the bush.
* Nu iese fum fără foc.
o Translation: "There's no smoke without fire."
* Nu lăsa pe mâine ce poţi face azi.
o Translation: "Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today."
* Nu măsura pe alţii cu palma ta.
o Translation: "Don't measure others with your hand."
o Meaning: Some people may have reasons unknown to you for doing certain things.
* Nu poţi îndrepta lumea cu umărul.
o Translation: "You can't straighten the world with your shoulder."
* Nu te pune cu prostul, căci are mintea odihnită.
o Translation: "Don't argue with a fool, because he has a rested mind."
* Nu vinde pielea ursului din pădure.
o Translation: "Don't sell the skin of the bear from the forest."
* Obiceiul e a doua natură.
o Translation: "Habit is the second nature."
* Ochii care nu se văd se uită.
o Transliteration: "The eyes who don't see each other forget each other."
o Translation: "Out of sight, out of mind."
* Omul sfinţeşte locul.
o Transliteration: "The man makes the place holy."
o Translation: "Let me look at your house and I'll tell you who you are."
* Ori te poartă cum ţi-e vorba, ori vorbeşte cum ţi-e portul.
o Translation: "Either act as you speak, or speak as you act."
o Meaning: Don't be a hypocrite.
* Prietenul la nevoie se arată.
o Translation: "A friend in need is a friend indeed."
* Prostul nu e prost destul dacă nu e şi fudul!
o Translation: "A fool must be conceited to be foolish enough!"
* Râde ciob de oală spartă.
o Translation: "The pot calls the kettle black."
* S-a dus baba cu colacii!
o Translation: "There goes your chance!"
* S-a dus viţel şi s-a întors bou.
o Translation: "He went as a calf and returned as an ox."
o Meaning: He didn't learn anything (referring to either learning from a teacher or finding out information).
o Origin: Well-off Romanian teenagers would go to Paris to "study" at University, but would generally come back without learning anything. An ox is a derrogatory term in Romanian.
* Sângele apă nu se face.
o Translation: "Blood doesn't turn into water."
* Stăpânul învaţă sluga hoţ.
o Translation: "The master is the one who turns the servant into a thief."
* Te ineci la mal ca ţiganul.
o Translation: "You drown at the shore like the gipsy."
o Meaning: (reffering to an assignment) you pass the more difficult tasks but in the end you get stuck on an easy one.
* Totu-i bine cand se termină cu bine.
o Translation: "All is well that ends well"
* Ţara arde şi baba se piaptănă.
o Translation: "The country is besieged and the granny is arranging her hair."
* Un nebun aruncă o piatră în apă şi zece înţelepţi nu pot s-o scoată.
o Translation: "A mad man throws a stone in the water, ten wise men can't get it out."
* Un necaz nu vine niciodată singur.
o Translation: "A problem never comes alone."
* Unde nu intră soarele pe geam, intră doctorul pe uşă.
o Transliteration: "Where the sun doesn't enter (shine) through the window, the doctor will come through the door."
o Translation: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
* Viaţa asta-i bun pierdut, de n-ai trăit cum ai fi vrut!"
o Translation: "Life is a waste if you did't live as you would have wanted to!"
* Vino necazule, dar vino singur!
o Translation: "Come trouble, but come alone!"
Subiect: Romanian proverbs (Citit de 8339 ori)