Many Irish proverbs originated in the Irish 'Gaelic' language , but many have come into common usage among the Irish and their descendants in their translated form. In Irish, proverbs are called "seanfhocail" (literally "old words").
- "Ní dhíolann dearmad fiacha"
- Translation: "A debt is still unpaid, even if forgotten"
- "Is leor don dreoilín a nead"
- Translation: "A wren only has need for its nest"
- Meaning: Home is where the heart is
- "Is leor nod don eolach"
- Translation: "A hint is sufficient for the wise"
- "Maireann croí éadrom i bhfad"
- Translation: "A light heart lives longest"
- "Coimhéad fearg fhear na foighde"
- Translation: "Beware of the anger of a patient man"
- "Dúirt bean liom go ndúirt bean léi"
- Translation: "A woman told me that a woman told her . . ."
- Meaning: Don't believe everything you are told. It may be just gossip.
- "Never burn a penny candle looking for a halfpenny."
- Meaning: Don't spend more on something than it is worth.
- "Marry a woman from Truagh and you marry all Truagh."
- Meaning: You cannot be in a relationship without accepting a person's friends, family, and past affiliations.
- "Though the carpenter is bad, the splinter is good."
- "It's hard to make a choice between two blind dogs."
- Meaning: Both options are unsatasfactory
- "Don't go putting wool on the sheep's back."
- Meaning: Don't give someone something they don't need.
- Similar: Carrying coals to Newcastle
- "Is iomaí slí muc a mharú seachas a thachtadh le him"
- Translation: "There's many ways of killing a pig other than by choking it with butter."
- Meaning: There's more than one way to do something - usually, more simply.
- "Cailín ag Mór agus Mór ag iarraidh déirce"
- Translation: "Mór has a maid and yet Mór has to beg."
- Meaning: Anything to keep up appearances
- "Bíonn grásta Dé idir an diallait agus an talamh"
- Translation: "The grace of God is found between the saddle and the ground"
- "Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir"
- Translation: "Time is a good story teller"
- Meaning: Either "time will tell", or "wisdom comes with age"
- "Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh"
- Translation: "A good word never broke a tooth"
- Meaning: It doesn't hurt to pay a compliment
- "Is minic a bhris beál duine a shrón"
- Translation: "It's often a person's mouth broke their nose"
- Meaning: Watch what you say--it can hurt you!
- "Ní hé lá na báistí lá na bpáistí"
- Translation: "A rainy day is not a day for children"
- "Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin"
- Translation: "There's no hearth like your own hearth"
- Meaning: There's no place like home.
- "Molann an obair an fear"
- Translation: "The work praises the man"
- "Ní bhíonn saoi gan locht"
- Translation: "There's never a wise man without fault"
- Note:In Hiberno-English , this is rendered as "There doesn't be a wiseman without fault".
- "Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí"
- Translation: "Praise the youth and it will develop"
- "Ceileann searc ainimh 's locht"
- Translation: "Love is blind"
- "Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile"
- Translation: "One beetle recognises another"
- Meaning: It takes one to know one; Like sees like; Birds of a feather flock together
- "Nuair a bhíonn an t-ól istigh, bíonn an chiall amuigh"
- Translation: "When the drink is in, common sense is gone"
- "Is binn béal ina thost"
- Meaning: Silence is golden
- "Ní thagann ciall roimh aois"
- Meaning: Sense does not come before age
- "Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam"
- Meaning: A country without a language, a country without a soul
- "Tada gan iarracht"
- Meaning: Nothing without effort
See also: List of proverbs.
Last updated: 10-26-2005 03:52:15