Mexican Proverbs

Proverbial Wisdom from Mexico

  • The road to hell is strewn with roses.
  • If it does not stink, it is not a foot.
  • Never ask God to give you anything; ask Him to put you where things are.
  • The envious never give praise, they only take it in.
  • We are all made of the same clay, but not from the same mold.
  • He who assists everybody assists nobody.
  • One timely shout is better than constant talk.
  • He who doesn't speak will get no help from God.
  • Duty before devotion.
  • Everyone makes firewood of a fallen tree.
  • Necessity is a great teacher.
  • Speak plain -- call bread bread, and wine wine.
  • Tell me what you want to buy and I will tell you what you are.
  • Where there are weapons, there will be wars.
  • Do not refuse the body what it asks for.
  • If you give away what you have, you will not yearn for what you see.
  • Though a cage may be made of gold, it is still a cage.
  • It's not the fault of the mouse, but of the one who offers him the cheese.
  • A person born to be a flower pot will not go beyond the porch.
  • An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.
  • Hunger brings people down, but pride can help them get up.
  • We were born to die anyhow.
  • One string is good enough to a good musician.
  • No fate is worse than a life without a love.
  • Nobody leaves this world alive.
  • He who lingers around will hear bad things spoken about him.
  • Only men with thick lips should smoke a cigar.
  • God is bigger than your problems.
  • The heir's tears are but a mask to disguise his joy.
  • The lover of a student does not always become the wife of a graduate.
  • He who is accustomed to evil is offended by good.
  • He who strikes first, strikes twice.
  • Since excuses were invented, no one is ever in the wrong.
  • Never confuse gratitude with love.
  • When two paupers get married it is the beginning of a generation of beggars.
  • A good cock will crow on every dungheap.
  • Let the water you cannot drink flow by.
  • God did not give wings to scorpions.
  • Your hometown is like a small fatherland.
  • The house does not rest upon the ground, but upon a woman.
  • Those who rescue are always crucified.
  • The lion believes that everyone shares its state of mind.
  • You cannot worship an unknown saint.
  • Even the saints' patience has its limits.
  • Trust your best friend as you would your worst enemy.
  • The eleventh commandment: Thou shalt not contradict.
  • If you want to live in peace, you must not tell everything that you know, nor judge everything that you see.
  • He who really wants to die will not complain if he is buried standing up.
  • He who speaks too much is tiresome; he who speaks too little is boring.
  • It's not enough to know how to ride -- you must also know how to fall.
  • If it is not stolen, it is a legacy.
  • As you see yourself, I once saw myself; as you see me now, you will be seen.
  • Envious persons never compliment, they only swallow.
  • The right time to dine is: for the rich man, when he is hungry; and for the poor, when he has something to eat.
  • If you don't honor your wife, you are dishonoring yourself.
  • He is not fat -- it is his belt that doesn't fit.
  • Love is blind -- but not the neighbors.
  • Agreements should be clearly expressed, and chocolate should be served thick.
  • Love is too rare to be lost on jealousy.
  • For every dog there is an appropriate stick.
  • Cleanliness is the luxury of the poor.
  • A jealous lover becomes an indifferent spouse.
  • The person who asks for little deserves nothing.
  • Fortune is like a wall that falls on those who lean on it.
  • The rat who only knows about one hole will soon be caught by the cat.
  • A golden cage is still a cage.
  • Foreign bread is good for your son.
  • Marriage is the only war in which you sleep with the enemy.
  • He who knows nothing neither doubts nor fears anything.
  • Nobody wants to buy a sleeping horse.
  • He who follows his own advice must take the consequences.

The United Mexican States

Mexican flag with map of Mexico


Mexico is a federal republic in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers (over 760,000 sq mi), the nation is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area and the 13th largest independent state in the world. ( Source)

Mexico City, or the City of Mexico is the capital and most populous city of Mexico and North America. and one of the most important financial centers in the Americas. It is located in the Valley of Mexico.

The country has the largest Spanish-speaking population in the world with almost a third of all Spanish native speakers.



"Himno Nacional Mexicano" (The Mexican National Anthem) is the title of the national anthem of the United Mexican States.  Lyrics:

Mexicans, at the cry of war,
make ready the steel and the bridle,
and may the Earth tremble at its core
at the resounding roar of the cannon.
and may the Earth tremble at its core
at the resounding roar of the cannon!

Gird, Oh Fatherland!, your temples with olive
by the peace of the divine archangel,
for in heaven your eternal destiny
was written by the finger of God.
If, however, a foreign enemy would dare
to profane Your ground with its sole,
think, Oh beloved Fatherland!, that Heaven
has given you a soldier in every son.

War, war! without quarter to any who dare
to tarnish the coats of arms of the country!
War, war! Let the national banners
be soaked in waves of blood.
War, war! In the mountain, in the valley,
let the cannons thunder in horrid unison
and may the sonorous echoes resound
with cries of Union! Liberty!

O, Fatherland, ere your children, defenseless
bend their neck beneath the yoke,
may your fields be watered with blood,
may their foot be printed in blood.
And may your temples, palaces and towers
collapse with horrid clamor,
and may their ruins continue on, saying:
Of one thousand heroes, here the Fatherland began.

Fatherland! Fatherland! Your children swear to you
to breathe their last for your sake,
if the bugle with its bellicose accent
calls them together to battle with courage.
For you, the olive wreaths!
For them, a reminder of glory!
For you, a laurel of victory!
For them, a tomb of honor!