Russian Proverbs Love Life Sayings
You will reap what you will sow.
Once you have fallen into the water, you're not scared of water any more. |
You cannot sew buttons on your neighbor's mouth. |
One does not sharpen the axes after the right time; after the time they are needed. |
In a deal there are two fools: the one who asks too much and the one who asks too little. |
The bear dances but the tamer collects the money. |
You do not drink soup with a knife. |
Desert and reward seldom keep company. |
You cannot make a soft bed for everyone. |
Thanks to one small candle the whole of Moscow burns. |
If you will not hear reason, she will surely rap your knuckles. |
The tallest tree is rooted in the ground. |
Look for wind in a field. |
Trouble is here, so open the gates. |
One son is no son, two sons is no son, but three sons is a son. |
Money is only good for a weekday, a holiday, and a rainy day. |
It is good to pay with other people's money. |
You cannot buy wisdom abroad if there is none at home. |
Do not teach a learned person. |
Creditors have better memories than debtors. |
Having a good wife and rich cabbage soup, seek not other things. |
Seven nannies make a one-eyed kid. |
One can get sick of cake, but never of bread. |
Only he who does nothing makes no mistakes. |
For each wise man there are plenty of fools. |
Everything is funny as long as it happens to someone else. |
Custom is stronger than law. |
He took the devil's mat, but he'll pay back with his skin. |
After the head is off, one does not cry over the hair. |
Trust in God, but mind your own business. |
Russian Sayings in English |
A good laugh is sunshine in a house. |
Love makes the owl seem prettier than a white falcon. |
Pray to God but continue to row to the shore. |
Clemency is the support of justice. |
Rooster today, feather duster tomorrow. |
What you plant, that you will harvest. |
Seven people don't wait for one. |
An empty barrel makes the greatest sound. |
Pray to God, but keep rowing to the shore. |
Success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan. |
The reserve doesn't weight your pocket. |
Beware of a quite dog and still water. |
Visiting is good, but home is better. |
Every vegetable has its time. |
Freedom for the free and heaven for the saved. |
You may call me even a pot, just don't put me into the oven. |
Law is a flag and gold is the wind that makes it wave. |
The appetite comes during a meal. |
It is easier for the horse when a woman gets off the cart. |
Rain falls alike on the just and the unjust. |
Success consecrates the foulest crimes. |
Beat your own and others will fear you. |
If you rely on god, you won't fail. |
Fishermen recognize each other from far away. |
Small gifts go to places where men expect bigger ones. |
Do not carry rubbish out of your hut. |
Meanness looks through one eye only, ambition is blind. |
Take time to smell the roses. |
One sprinkles the most sugar where the tart is burnt. |
Seek the brave in prison and the stupid among the clergy. |
A bad peace is better than a good quarrel. |
Still waters are inhibited by devils. |
The wolf will hire himself out very cheaply as a shepherd. |
God gives to those who get up early. |
Success and rest don't sleep together. |
Pray to God, but keep on rowing to the shore. |
Keep your ears wider and your mouth narrower. |
The cat knows who's meat it has eaten. |
Sit a beggar at your table and he will soon put his feet on it. |
In the land of hope, there is never any winter. |
Who owns the bank owns the fish. |
The elbow is near, but try and bite it. |
Near is my shirt, but nearer is my skin. |
Small choice in rotten apples. |
As you brew, so must you drink. |
Running away is not glorious, but often very healthy. |
Law is like a shaft of a cart, it points wherever you turn it to. |
If rubles fell from heaven the poor would have no bag. |
As long as a child does not cry, it does not matter what pleases it. |
Take care of clothes since they are new, take care of your honor since you are young. |
Don't fight with the strong one, don't sue the rich one. |
The belly is like a judge that is silent yet still asks questions. |
When god will punish, he will first take away the understanding. |
A glass for the vodka, for the beer a mug, and for the table, cheerful company. |
The fathers ate the cranberries and the children are left with the aftertaste. |
Wolf in sheep's clothing. |
Small children give you headache; big children give you heartache. |
Peace and harmony is great treasure. |
Looking at a tree see its fruit; looking at a man see his deeds. |
Peace lasts till the army comes, and the army lasts till peace comes. |
Something well cared for lasts two centuries. |
Tell lies, but become not tangled in lies. |
No one knows how the poor man dines. |
Eat what is cooked, listen to what is said. |
You will reap what you will sow. * |
It is bread that keeps one warm, not fur. |
Stretch your legs according to your clothes. |
An indispensable thing never has much value. |
Take the bull by the horns. |
There is no law written for fools. |
The less you know, the more soundly you sleep. |
Russian Love Proverbs |
Love has its own language, but marriage falls back on the local dialect. |
Love and eggs are best when they are fresh. |
Love is like a glass that breaks if handled clumsily. |
The first snow does not mean winter, nor the first love marriage. |
Not all who make love make marriages. |
All ages are submissive to love. |
There was a time they loved an accordionist, and now the time has come where they love a tractor driver. |
Smooth hands love the labor of others. |
Everyone loves the tree that gives him shelter. |
Those who love you will make you weep; those who hate you will make you laugh. |
Mistrust is an axe in the tree of love. |
The horse loves oats; the earth, manure; and the governor, tribute. |
Russian Proverbs about Life |
Life is short, but there's a lot to be done. |
Plan your life as though you were going to live forever, but live today as if you were going to die tomorrow. |
Living life is not like just crossing a field. |
Living life is not like crossing a meadow. |
The nights are short for him who married late in life. |
Living your life is not like crossing a meadow. |
A good citizen owes his life to his country. |
A day is long, but a lifetime is short. |
Death does not come free of charge, for it costs us our life. |
Your dog wishes you a long life. |
Death carries on its shoulders a heavy Tsar just as easily as a light beggar. |
Death is a giant against whom even the Tsars must draw weapons. |
Death answers before it is asked. |
Death is not found behind mountains but right behind our shoulders. |
Death does not take the old but the ripe. |
Old age is not a joy, but death is not a gain. |
There is no repentance after death. |
Habit is a shirt that we wear till death. |
Close to the Tsar, close to death. |
Shame is worse than death. |
Fighting for your country glorifies death. |
Only death will cure the hunchback. |
When death is there, dying is over. |
Eternal peace lasts only until the next war. |
Laws are silent in time of war. |
Eternal peace lasts until the next war. |
Make peace with man and war with your sins. |
Even one person in the field is a warrior, if he is a soviet warrior. |
Single in a field is not a warrior. |
For some people war is war, for others - dear mother. |
One man in a field is not a warrior. |
If you go to war pray once; if you go on a sea journey pray twice; but pray three times when you are going to be married. |
Friendship is one thing and tobacco is another. |
Friendship is friendship, but keep our tobacco apart. |
A mile walk with a friend has only one hundred steps. |
A thousand friends are few; one enemy is too many. |
Know friend when trouble. |
One who seeks no friends is his own enemy. |
To keep a new friend, never break with the old. |
An enemy will agree, but a friend will argue. |
Make a friend of the wolf, but keep your axe ready. |
An old friend is better than two new ones. |
I need not fear my enemies because the most they can do is attack me. I need not fear my friends because the most they can do is betray me. But I have much to fear from people who are indifferent. |
Tell me who your friends are and i'll tell you who you are. |
You get to really know your friend when trouble comes. |
One does not regret giving one's own ear-ring to one's dear friend. |
Ice in spring is treacherous; new friendships are seldom sure. |
The lucky man's enemy dies, and the unlucky man's friend. |
If you don't have a hundred rubles, make sure you have a hundred friends. |
One road for the fugitive and a hundred for the pursuer. |
You can't drive straight on a twisting lane. |
The coat is quite new, only the holes are old. |
Crows are black the world over. |
One good daughter is worth seven sons. |
If the collective farm is wealthy, the farmer is happy. |
Many people who have gold in the house are looking for copper outside. |
There will be trouble if the cobbler starts making pies. |
For a poor man, to prepare for a trip means belt himself. |
The dog learns to swim when the water reaches his ears. |
One would like to eat honey, but would not like to get stung. |
However much you steal from your state, all the same you won't get your own back. |
If you do not strike back at him who hits you, there is no way for him to find out whether you also have hands. |
No one is dragged to heaven by the hair. |
No family has no ugly member. |
The past is for God, the future for the Tsars. |
You can not write in the chimney with charcoal. |
A man should not be struck when he is down. |
Time makes the best healer. |
Old age is not a blessing. |
Even an eagle will not fly higher than the sun. |
The morning is wiser than the evening. |
Every day is a messenger of God. |
If you flatter the mother, you will embrace the daughter. |
The same hammer that breaks the glass forges the steel. |
Overseas, a cow a quarter of kopeck, but a rouble to ship. |
A wise companion is half the journey. |
The night's too short to warrant marrying poor. |
After a storm fair weather, after sorrow joy. |
Together, it's cramped; apart, it's boring. |
Good brotherhood is the best wealth. |
One does not look for good when he is well. |
The wife is twice precious only; when led into the house, and when taken out. |
No money is taken for just looking at somebody or something. |
Fear has large eyes. |
Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes. |
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