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Qwiel Maltin: Maltese Proverbs
Hajja
Life
-------------
Il-bniedem qatta xewk.
Man is a faggot of thorns.
Kulhadd tad-demm u l-laham.
We are all flesh and blood.
Id-dinja hmerija: dak li tarah sabih fil-ghodu
tarah ikreh filghaxija.
The world is nonsense: what looks beautiful in
the morning looks ugly in the evening.
Fid-dinja pinta helu u bitija morr.
In this world a pint of sweetness and a barrel
of bitterness.
Min ma jgarrabx il-hazin ma jafx it-tajjeb.
He who has had no experience of evil cannot know
the worth of what is good.
Gebel ma gebel ma jiltaqa', izda wicc ma wicc
jiltaqa'.
Mountain does not meet mountain, but a face meets
another face.
Fid-dinja hawn aktar imgienen minn nies f'sensihom.
In the world there are more insane than sane.
Gawdi ghax mid-dinja m'ghandna xejn.
Enjoy yourself, for there is nothing in the world
we can call our own.
Il-hajja farsa.
Life is a farce.
Illum jien u ghada int.
Today me, tomorrow you.
Id-dinja tghallmek aktar minn imghallmek.
The world teaches you more than your task-master.
Id-dinja rota, in-nies imghazel u x-xitan idur
u jaghzel.
The world is a wheel and men are the fellowes,
and the devil prowling around spins.
Wara l-maltemp jigi l-bnazzi.
After bad weather comes fine weather.
M'hemmx warda bla xewk.
There is no rose without thorns.
Mewt
Death
----------------
Ruhek 'l alla, gismek lit-trab, hwejgek lil
niesek, ghax hekk insab.
Your soul to god, your body to dust; your property
to your relatives, because thus it is written.
Bikja u mahta, u kollox imur fis-sahta.
A cry and a sniff, and all comes to naught.
Hadd ma jiehu xejn mieghu.
No one takes away anything with him.
Il-mewt ma tahfirha 'l hadd.
Death spares no one.
Mewt ta wiehed hajja t'iehor.
One man's death is another man's life.
Mitt jien miet kulhadd; ta wara jsakkar jekk
irid.
I am dead it is as if everybody were dead; let
the man left behind shut the door if he wants to.
Quddiem il-mewt kulhadd xorta.
We are all equal before death.
Il-mewt issewwi kollox.
Death rights everything.
Mewt ix-xhih bhal dbih il-hanzir, il-werrieta
ferhana sejra ttir.
When a miser dies, the heirs feel as happy as
when they kill a pig.
Zgur il-mewt.
Only death is certain.
Flus
Money
--------------
Bil-flus taghmel triq fil-bahar.
With money you can build a road in the
sea.
Il-flus taghmel il-flus, wil-qamel taghmel
il-qamel.
Money begets money, and fleas beget fleas.
Bla flus la tghannaq u lanqas tbus.
Without money you can neither hug nor kiss.
Bil-flus hadd ma jixtri il-genna.
You can't buy heaven with money.
Il-borza tal-bezziegh la timtela w lanqas tifriegh.
The wallet of the timid man neither increases
nor decreases.
Qabda trab, erba' kaptelli u harja f'wicc kull
ma kelli.
A handful of dust, four capitals (of a column)
and shit on all i possessed.
Sess U Mhabba
Sex and love
------------------------------------
Ahjar xih u gharef milli zaghzugh u ibleh.
Better (marry) an old but wise man than a young
but foolish man.
Baqra tajba tinbiegh f'pajjizha.
A good cow gets sold in its own country.
Bewsa minghajr taghniqa donnha warda minghajr
fwieha.
A kiss without a hug is like a flower without
fragrance.
Meta ddahhal ic-curkett tat-tieg, tghaddas
rasek ghal kull m'hu mehtieg.
Once you put on the wedding ring you must
submit to all that is necessary.
Jekk ir-ragel jikxef karusu, il-mara tiehdu
ghal flusu.
If the man lets a woman know what he has got
in his saving box, she will marry him for his money.
Il-grazzja aqwa mill-gmiel.
Charm is stronger than beauty.
Min ihobb ibati.
He who loves suffers.
L-imhabba ghamja.
Love is blind.
Min jitbellah ghall-mara jkun wasal ghall-hala.
He who makes a fool of himself on account of
a woman is well nigh ruined.
Il-mara li ma tifhimx b'daqqa t'ghajn ma tifhimx
b'daqqa ta' ponn.
A woman who does not understand by a look of
the eye won't understand by a box of the fist.
Min jisma mill-mara, wicc alla qatt ma jara.
He who follows his wife's advice will never see
the face of god.
Tifla sabiha tinqala' b'giehha, tifla kerha
tinqala bil-mera.
A lovely girl attracts attention by her good
looks, an ugly girl by the help of a mirror.
Zwieg minghajr namur, konsegwenzi u dulur.
Marriage without love-making means sad consequences
and sorrow.
Bil-lejl in-nisa kollha xorta.
At night all women are alike.
Boghod mill-ghajn, boghod mil-qalb.
Far from the eye far from the heart.
Gharusa gdida, kull ma tmiss kollu jfuh.
Whatsoever a new bride touches is fragrant.
Tihux gharusa sabiha ghax ikollok tharisha.
Don't marry a good-looking bride for you'll have
to watch her.
Fejn thobb il-qalb jimxu r-riglejn.
Where the heart loves, there the legs walk.
Hu ragel akbar minnek u mhux zaghzugh jixba'
minnek.
Marry a man older than you and not a younger
man, who will tire of you.
Ir-ragel tigiega u l-mara serduq, id-dar tinqaleb
ta' taht fuq.
When the husband is a hen and the wife is a cock,
the house is topsy-turvy.
Ghonq bla ras, tina bla toqba, u tifla bla
misthija la fihom hajr u la hotba.
A neck without a head, buttocks without a hole
and a girl without shame are not worth admiring or marrying.
Iz-zwieg laghqa ghasel, bittija mrar.
Marriage is a lick of honey and a barrel of bitter.
Iz-zakak jaqbez u jitfarfar, izda l-hamiem
izoqq u jgargar.
The wagtail hops and flaps its wings, but the
male dove feeds and coos.
Ragel U Mara
Man and Woman (starkly misogynist)
--------------------------------------
Mara sa dahket bix-xitan.
A woman has even cheated the devil.
Id-dbielet twal ikarkru t-trab, imma d-dbielet
qosra jkarkru l-erwieh.
Long skirts carry dust, but short skirts carry
away souls.
Il-mara bhall-lumija taghsarha u tarmiha.
A woman is like a lemon; you squeeze her and
throw her away.
Mara ghandha sebat erwieh.
A woman has got seven souls.
Sebgha nisa f'sensihom mignun jghaddihom.
Seven women in their right senses are surpassed
by a mad man.
Ragel jahlef u mara tibki temminhomx.
Believe not a swearing man and a weeping woman.
Ragel u qatta tiben tnejn.
A man and a sheaf of straw make two.
In-nisa xagharhom twil u s-sens qasir.
Women have got long hair and short sense.
Qatta zergha araha fil-ghodu u xebba araha
filghaxija.
See a sheaf of corn in the morning and a young
woman in the evening.
Miscellaneous
----------------
Il-mistoqsija oht il-gherf.
Asking is the sister of knowing.
Ilsien ta mara jxoqq il-ghadam.
A womans tongue cracks bones.
Il-qalb tal-bniedem bosk.
A man's heart is a forest.
Il-qattus u l-far qatt ma hasbu ghalenija.
The cat and the rat never thought alike.
Trid toqtol il-brimba biex tnehhi l-ghanqbuta.
You must kill the spider to get rid of the cobweb.
Il-bajtar tax-xewk ma jaghmilx hawh.
Prickly pear trees dont produce peaches.
Ahjar issuq erba zwiemel minn hmar.
Its better to drive four horses than a donkey.
Bil-flus taghmel triq il-bahar.
With money you can make a road in the sea.
Ghall-bejjiegh ghajn wahda u ghax-xerrej mitt
ghajn.
The seller has one eye, the buyer, one hundred.
L-iblah jaghmilhielek.
Its the fool wholl get you in trouble.
Li kien kien, li kieku kieku.
What was is no more, what if is just if.
Malti tajjeb aharqu; ahseb u ara hazin.
Burn a good maltese; let alone a bad one.
Ahjar weggha minn demgha.
Better an ache than a tear.
Min ma jbossx, jifsa.
He who doesnt fart, lets out silent ones.
Avukat jekk ma jehdux alla jiehdu x-xitan.
If god doesnt take a lawyer, the devil will haul
him away.
Il-ligi mhux ghas-sinjur.
The law is not made for the rich.
Kull tajra tifrah brixha.
Every bird is proud of its feathers.
Il-mara taf tghallik fis-sema u taf twaddbek
fl-infern.
A woman can raise you to heaven and can dump
you in hell.
Meta r-ras zghira tkun fil-glorja, ir-ras il-kbira
titlef il-memorja.
When the cock is euphoric, the brain is amnesic.
Taghmilx zalza qabel taqbad il-hut.
Dont make sauce before catching fish.
Il-flus ghandhom il-gwienah.
Money has wings.
Tmiem tajjeb isewwi kollox.
All is well that ends well.
(Source lost.)
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