Armenian Proverbs
Armenian Sayings
Proverbs from Armenia
Not everything round is an apple.The guest is the ass of the inn-keeper.
If you speak too much, you will learn too little.
Thunder clouds do not always give rain.
He who begs is shameless, but still more shameless is he who lends not to him.
The friend who helps me and the enemy who does me no harm, make a pair of earrings.
Advice is a free gift that can become expensive for the one who gets it.
One wit is good; two wits are better.
Ashamed of what she sees in the daytime the sun sets with a blush.
The wound of a dagger heals, but that of the tongue, never.
The red cow won't change his hide.
On a rainy day many offer to water the chickens.
Far from the eye, far from the heart.
All riches come from the earth.
The woman who loves her husband corrects his faults; the man that loves his wife exaggerates them.
The end of strife is repentance.
God turns away his face from a shameless man.
The blind have no higher wish than to have two eyes.
One bad deed begets another.
If bread tastes good, it is all one to me whether a Jew or a Turk bakes it.
A drowning man will clutch at straws.
The voice of the people is louder than the boom of a canon.
He who looks for a friend without a fault will never find one.
The poor understand the troubles of the poor.
To be willing is only half the job.
Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage.
Yerevan, is the capital and largest city of Armenia, and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country. It has been the capital since 1918, the thirteenth in the history of Armenia, and the seventh located in or around the Ararat plain.
More Armenian Proverbs
Dogs that fight each other will join forces against the wolf.It is better to carry stones with a wise man than accept the meal of a madman.
The rose of winter-time is fire.
Water is sure to find its way.
When you are going in, consider first how you are coming out.
Quiet horses kick the hardest.
The eyes would not disagree even if the nose were not between them.
You cannot put a fire out with spit.
Begin with small things, that you may achieve great.
Make friends with a dog, but keep a stick in your hand.
He who speaks a lot learns little.
Clouds that thunder do not always rain.
When your fortune improves, the columns of your house appear to be crooked.
When God gives, He gives with both hands.
The scornful soon grow old.
The dowry that a woman brings is like a bell; every time she passes by she hits you with the clapper.
One blossom does not make a spring.
Where is there a tree not shaken by the wind?
Dogs quarrel among themselves, but against the wolf they are united.
The butterfly who settles on a branch is afraid that he will break it.
All men have three ears, one on the left of his head, one on the right and one in his heart.
You cannot hit the point of a needle with a fist.
He who falls into the water need have no fear of rain.
At death's door a man will beg for the fever.
The eagle was killed by an arrow made with his own feathers.
One can spoil the good name of a thousand.
Whoever drinks on credit gets drunk more quickly.
The bee gets honey from the same flower where the snake sucks her poison.
Choose a friend with the eyes of an old man, and a horse with the eyes of a young one.
You never know a man until you have eaten a barrel of salt with him.
Always tell the truth in the form of a joke.
The tongue of the fool is always long.
The world is a pair of stairs: some go up and others go down.
A devil with experience is better than an angel without.
In business you need two Jews for one Greek, two Greeks for one Syrian and two Syrians for one Armenian.
I know many songs, but I cannot sing.
When a tree falls there is plenty of kindling wood.
Before the fat one slims, the slim one will die.
When the thief has stolen from a thief, God laughs in heaven.
If a rich man dies, all the world is moved; if a poor man dies, nobody knows it.
Even if the nightingale is in a gold cage, she still dreams of returning to the forest.
The wolf is upset about what he left behind, and the shepherd is upset about what he took away.
Tears have meaning but only he who sheds them understands.
He that asks knows one shame; he that doesn't knows two.
What does the blind care if candles are dear?
Give a horse to the one who likes the truth so that on it he can escape.
Dine with a friend but do not do business with him.
One should not feel hurt at the kick of an ass.
Friendship is not born of words alone.
No one will give a pauper bread, but everybody will give him advice.
A calf is not found under an ox.
From the same flower the serpent draws poison and the bees honey.
To ask a favor from a miser is like trying to make a hole in water.
A small cloud can hide the sun and the moon.
A king must be worthy of a crown.
If a brother was really good for anything, God would have one.
Unless the child cries, the mother will not suckle it.
Men have three ears: one on the left of the head, one on the right of the head, and one in the heart.
To pick up in a clumsy way is stealing, to steal in a skillful way is to pick up.
Which of the five fingers can you cut off without hurting yourself?
Until you see trouble you will never know joy.
He who steals an egg will steal a horse also.
He who cannot pray at home will celebrate mass somewhere else.
Love ever so well, there is also hate; hate ever so much, there is always love.
The more you stone a dog the more he barks.
If a woman hears that something unusual is going on in heaven, she would find a ladder to go and look.
If you chase two rabbits [at the same time], you won’t catch either of them.
What is play to the cat is death to the mouse.
Take up a stick, and the thieving dog understands.
When the cart breaks down, advice is plentiful.
The water in which one drowns is always an ocean.
He sleeps for himself and dreams for others.
You are as many a person as languages you know.
Better to be an ant's head than a lion's tail.
Birds are caught with seed, men with money.
A pain in the foot is soon forgotten -- a pain in the head is not.
Only a bearded man can laugh at a beardless face.
When asked, "What news from the sea?" The fish replied "I have a lot to say, but my mouth is full of water."
He who has money has no sense; and he who has sense, no money.
A woman is like the moon-some nights it is silver others gold.
A mule can swim seven different strokes but the moment he sees the water he forgets them all.
A girl with a golden cradle doesn't remain long in her father's house.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
The ass knows seven ways of swimming, but when he sees the water he forgets them all.
At home the dog is very brave.
Stand away from dwarfs, for it's God who hit them on the head.
He's looking for the donkey while sitting on it.
How can one start a fast with baklava in one's hand.
When a man sees that the water does not follow him, he follows the water.
Let it be late, let it be good.
The fool throws himself into the stream, and forty wise men cannot pull him out.
What the wind brings it will take away again.
You don't satisfy your hunger by watching others work.
Because the cat was given no meat, he said it was Friday.
Wealth can give legs to the cripple, beauty to the ugly, and sympathy to tears.
A fish in the water is worth nothing.
What a man acquires in his youth serves as a crutch in his old age.
Priest on the outside, Satan on the inside.
What the great say, the humble hear.
Speak little and you will hear much.
When the cart breaks down, advice abounds.
The goat prefers one goat to a whole herd of sheep.
No one is sure that his light will burn till morning.
If you cannot become rich, be the neighbor of a rich man.
Love did not grow any garlic.
The gravity of the earth is so strong that the old grey man walks crooked.
There is no reason for war that reasonable men can’t settle.
A devil at home, a parson abroad.
One hand cannot clap alone.
The only sword that never rests is the tongue of a woman.
When they gave the donkey flowers to smell, he ate them.
The sun won't stay behind the cloud.
The world is a pot, man but a spoon in it.
A shrewd enemy is better than a stupid friend.
As mills require two stones, so friendship requires two heads.
The childless have one trouble, but those who have children have a thousand.
They asked a bullfrog, "Why do you croak all the time?" He replied, "I'm enchanted with my voice."
A near neighbour is better than a distant kinsman.
A mule laden with gold is welcome at every castle.
In dreams the hungry see bread and the thirsty water.
No other day can equal the one that is past.
Better lose one's eyes than one's calling.
When someone’s wealth improves, all of a sudden their house’s columns appear to be crooked.
The stones of my native country are warmer than the ovens of Babylon.
Armenian is the only official language. Due to its Soviet past, Russian is still widely used in Armenia and could be considered as de facto second language.
"Our Fatherland" "Mer Hayrenik"is the national anthem of the Republic of Armenia. Adopted on 1 July 1991, it was also the national anthem of the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920), the first modern Armenian state.
Lyrics: (English Translation)
Our Fatherland, free, independent,
That has for centuries lived,
Is now summoning its sons
To the free, independent Armenia.
Here is a flag for you, my brother,
That I have sewn
Over the sleepless nights,
And bathed in my tears.
Look at it, tricolored,
A valuable symbol for us.
Let it shine against the enemy,
Let you, Armenia, be glorious forever.
Death is the same everywhere,
A man dies but once,
Blessed is the one that dies
For the freedom of his nation.