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Italian proverbs
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
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"A buon intenditor poche parole."
- Translation: "A good listener needs only few words"
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"A caval donato non si guarda in bocca."
- Translation: "Never look a gift horse in the mouth. Don't criticize gifts."
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"Aiutati che Dio ti aiuta."
- Translation: "Help youself and God will help you as well."
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"Al contadino non far sapere quanto è buono il cacio con le pere."
- Translation: "Don't let the peasant know how good the cheese with the pears is."
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"Amicu ca non ti duna, parendi ca non ti mpresta, fuili comu la pesta"
- Sicilian Translation: "Relatives who wont give, friends who wont lend you a hand, avoid them like the plague."
C
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"Can che abbaia non morde."
- Translation: "The dog that barks doesn't bite."
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Chi fa da se - fa per tre.
- Translation: Those who do things for themselves - do for three.
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"Chi bene incomincia è a metà dell'opera."
- Translation: "Well begun is half done."
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"Chi dice Siena, dice Palio."
- Translation: "He who mentions Siena , mentions the Palio" (that city's famous horse-race).
- Notes: said of something that one cannot mention without calling some other thing to mind.
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"Chi fa da sè fa per tre."
- Translation: "He who act by himself, act with the same strength as three persons."
- Notes: ironically contraddicted by: "L'unione fa la forza (The union produces the might)."
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Chi ha la mamma sua - non piange mai.
- Translation: Who has their own mother - never cries.
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"Chi la dura la vince."
- Translation: "He who perseveres wins at last."
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"Chi la fa l'aspetti."
- Translation: "He who wrongs someone has to expect something in retaliation."
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"Chi mangia solo, crepa solo."
- Translation: "He who eats alone, dies alone."
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Chi parla in faccia - non è traditore.
- Translation: Who speaks to your face - is not a traitor.
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"Chi pensa male fa peccato ma indovina."
- Translation: "He who thinks badly commits a sin but hits the mark."
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Chi si alza sarà abbassato - chi si abbassa sarà innalzato.
- Translation: Those who have airs will be laid low - those who abase themselves will be raised up.
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Chi s'impiccia degli affari altri - di tre parte gl'ie ne resta due.
- Translation: Who meddles in others' affairs - will be left with two of three parts.
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Chi tante male azioni fa - una grossa ne aspetta.
- Translation: Who does many bad deeds - will receive a big one.
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"Chi troppo vuole, nulla stringe."
- Translation: "He who wants too much doesn't catch anything."
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"Chi trova un amico, trova un tesoro."
- Translation "He who finds a friend, finds a treasure."
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"Chi va piano, va sano e va lontano."
- Translation: "He who goes slow, goes safely and goes far." Has to do with driving
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"Commediante! Tragediante!"
- Transliteration: "Comedian! Tragedian!"
- Notes: exclaimed by Pope Pius VII during a violent scene that Napoleon made before him.
D
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Dio ci salvi dal povero arricchito - e dal ricco impoverito.
- Translation: God save us from the poor become rich - and from the rich become poor.
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Dagli amici mi guardi Iddio, che dai nemici mi guardio io.
- Translation: God protect me from my friends - from my enemies I'll protect myself.
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Del male non fare e paura non avere.
- Translation: Do no evil and have no fear.
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"Del senno di poi son piene le fosse."
- Transliteration: "The graves are filled with the after-wisdom."
- Meaning: "It's easy to be wise after the event."
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Donna che piange, uomo che giura, cavallo che suda - tutta impostura.
- Translation: Woman who cries, man who swears, horse that sweats - all imposture.
E
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"E' meglio un uovo oggi di una gallina domani."
- Translation: "An egg to-day is better than a chicken to-morrow."
- or "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"
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"Eppur, si muove!"
- Translation: "Nevertheless, it moves."
- Notes: Galileo is supposed to have said this after being forced by the Church to abjure the heliocentric theory .
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"E' la gaia pioggerella a far crescer l'erba bella."
- Translation: "The gay, drizzling rain makes grass to grow fine."
F
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"Fatti maschi, parole femmine."
- Translation: "Facts are male, words are female."
- Alternative: "Manly deeds, womanly words."
- Notes: Motto of the state of Maryland
G
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"Gallina vecchia fa buon brodo."
- Translation; "The old hen makes a good broth"
I
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"In bocca al lupo."
- Translation: "Into the wolf's mouth."
- Notes: used by students to wish each other good luck before exams. The response is "Crepi!" ("May it die!")
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"In un mondo di ciechi un orbo è re."
- Translation: "In a world of blind people a one-eyed man is king."
L
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"L'Italia farà da sè."
- Translation: "Italy will take care of itself."
- Notes: a common expression when Italy was in the process of reunification.
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"La madre degli idioti è sempre incinta."
- Translation: "Idiots' mother is always pregnant."
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"La morte mi deve trovare in vivo."
- Translation: "Death will find me alive."
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"Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate."
- Translation" "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
- Notes: inscribed above the gates of Hell in Dante Alighieri's Inferno (III, 9) Also commonly written above the entrance to examination halls in Universities.
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"L'abito non fa il monaco."
- Transliteration: "The habit does not make the monk."
- Translation: "Clothes do not make the man."
M
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"Mal comune, mezzo gaudio."
- Translation: "Trouble shared is trouble halved."
N
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"Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita. / Mi ritrovai per una selva oscura. / Ché la diritta via era smarrita..."
- Translation: "In the middle of the road of our life / I found myself in a dark forest / As the straight path had been lost."
- Notes: opening lines of Dante Alighieri's Inferno.
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"Nessuna nuova, buona nuova."
- Translation: "No news, good news."
R
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"Rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera"
- Translation: "Red sky in evening, we hope in good weather."
- Translation: "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight"
S
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"Se non è vero, è ben trovato."
- Translation: "If it's not true, it's a good story."
T
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Tanto va la gatta al lardo che ci lascia lo zampino.
- Translation: "The she-cat is so greedy to eat the bacon-fat that she looses her paw at last"
- Notes: equivalent to the english: "The pitcher goes so often to the well that it comes home broken at last"
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"Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare la donna mia..."
- Translation: "so kind and so honest my lady appears to be .."
- Notes: famous opening lines of Dante Alighieri's Sonnet 26 from La Vita Nuova
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"Tempo, marito e figli, vengono come li pigli."
- Meaning: "If you want to be happy, you must accept the weather, your husband and sons as they are."
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"Tra dire al fare, c'e in mezzo il mare."
- Translation: "Between doing and saying lies the sea."
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"Traduttore, traditore."
- Translation: "Translator, traitor."
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"Tu duca, tu signore e tu maestro."
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"Tutte le strade portano a Roma."
- Translation: "All streets lead to Rome."
U
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Una buona mamma vale cento maestre.
- Translation: A good mother is worth a hundred teachers.
V
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Vai in piazza e chiedere consiglio - vai a casa e fai come ti pare.
- Translation: Go to the square and listen to advice - [then] go home and do what you like.
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"Val più la pratica della grammatica."
- Translation: "The experience is more important than the theory."
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"Vedi Napoli, e poi muori!"
- Translation: "See Naples , and then die!"
- Notes: used to express admiration for Naples.
See also List of proverbs.
Last updated: 10-26-2005 03:52:15
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