List of Basque proverbs
Below is a list of Basque Proverbs. The list includes English translations and other meanings.
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. |