List of Basque proverbs
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Below is a list of Basque Proverbs. The list includes English translations and other meanings.
[edit] Proverbs
| NAME | QUOTE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| A, zer parea! Karakola eta barea! | "Oh, what a pair, a snail and a slug." | Said of people who share similar defects or habits, and spend time together. |
| Abadearen lapikoa, txikia baina gozoa | "The priest's pot is small but his supper is tasty." | Better to have a bit than a lot |
| Aberats izatea baino, izen ona hobe | "It's better to have a good reputation, than to be rich." | none |
| Adiskide honekin, orduak labur. | "Time flies when you are among friends." | none |
| Adiskidegabeko bizitza, auzogabeko heriotza. | "A life without friends, means death without company." | none |
| Aditu nahi ez duenak, ez du esan behar | "He who doesn't want to hear unpleasant things, shouldn't say unpleasant things." | If you don't want to hear it, don't say it. |
| Aditzaile onari, hitz gutxi | "A good listener needs few words." | Said to indicate that one should be able to figure out the message, and that things shouldn't need to be spelled out fully. |
| Agindua zorra, esan ohi da | "A promise is a debt, it's always been said." | If you promise someone something, you cannot go back on your word. |
| Aita biltzaileari, seme hondatzaile | "A thrifty father begets a squandering son." | One expects a person's children to resemble that person, but sometimes the opposite is true. |
| Aldi luzeak, guztia ahaztu | "With the passing of time, all things are forgotten." | none |
| Alfer egon eta alfer-lana egin, biak berdin | "To do nothing or to do useless work is the same thing." | none |
| Alferkeria, askoren ondamendia | "Laziness leads many people astray." | none |
| Alferrak, beti lanez beterik | "Lazy people are always busy." | Or so they seem, anyway. |
| Alferrarendako lanik ez, eta astirik ez | "The lazy person has no work, but has no time for anything else either." | none |
| Alferrarentzat jana eta langilearentzat lana, ez da inoiz faltako | "There is never a lack of food for the lazy person, nor of work for the industrious." | Somehow lazy people always manage to get enough to eat (from others, etc.) and industrious people always manage to find things to do. |
| Alferrik da, ura joan eta gero, presa egitea | "It is useless to hurry, once the water has already gone by." | none |
| Alferrik da, ura joan eta gero, presa egitea | "It's not useful closing the barn door after the horse has been stolen." | none |
| Amari egindako zorrak ez dira inoiz ordaintzen | "What one owes to one's mother is never repaid." | In other words, one can never do enough to repay one's mother for what she has done. |
| Amen: Zu hor eta ni hemen | "Let’s agree to disagree" | Said when one doesn't want to argue and agrees to disagree. Word play: amen-hemen |
| Apaizaren eltzea, txikia baina betea | "The priest's pot is small, but always full." | Priests don't go hungry. |
| Ardi galdua atzeman daiteke, aldi galdua berriz ez | One may recover a lost sheep, but not lost/wasted time." | none |
| Ardi txikia, beti bildots | "The small sheep, always a lamb." | Naturally, a small sheep is not always a lamb, but people are likely to categorize them that way. They say that small people seem younger than they are. |
| Ardiak beeka egonik, ez du jaten belarrik | "A bleating sheep eats no grass." | You can't act and talk at the same time. Don't just complain, take action. |
| Arian, arian, zehetzen da burnia | "Working and working at it, iron can be pulverized." | none |
| Arranoak lumak behar, txepetxak ere bai | "The eagle needs feathers, and the wren does too." | Despite the differences, all people (or animals) have similar needs. |
| Arrotz-herri, otso-herri | "A foreign land is a land of wolves." | This expresses distrust of foreigners and foreign places. |
