Abbreviation: Rohs

Rohsenow, John S.: ABC Dictionary of Chinese Proverbs - yanyu. 2002 University of Hawaii Press.. CHIN>ENG*

Below you will find a list of all proverb types referenced in this collection. Note that some or all of the original proverb texts are not available in the database.

11 ⋆ Moukan tuuri ⋆ Foolish people have fool’s luck. (Chinese)

10 ⋆ Maailma on pieni @ ( ⋆ Even patches of some duckweed may meet some day (Chinese) / The mountains and rivers will meet sooner or later. (Chinese) meaning: Always part as friends because you never know when you’ll meet again.

26 ⋆ heittää helmiä sioille @ ⋆ When playing a lute to a cow, there is not one chance of getting through to it. (Chinese)

22 ⋆ Ei hätä hävetä anna ⋆ Just as a hungry chicken is not afraid of being beaten, so a hungry person is not afraid of losing face. (Chinese)

10 ⋆ Mikään ei ole täydellistä - norsultakin puuttuu kunnon häntä @ ( ⋆ Square logs do not roll, round logs are unsteady. (Chinese) meaning: nothing is perfect in this world.

26 ⋆ Hyvä on sokeoitten maassa silmäpuolen elää ( ⋆ When there are no fish in the pond the chrimp becomes the biggest. (Chinese)

19 ⋆ Ei sammakko kaivossa tiedä valtamerestä @ ( ⋆ To frogs in a well one may not speak of the sea. (Chinese)

25b ⋆ Ihmisen maine on puun varjo ( ⋆ Wealth and honors dewdrops on the tips of grass. (Chinese) /as floating clouds. (Chinese)

16 ⋆ Jos kettu kuolee, niin häntä jää @ ( -( ⋆ Leopard dies, it leaves its skin; a person dies, he/she leaves his/her reputation. (Chinese)

08 ⋆ Pitkät hiukset, lyhyt mieli ⋆ The shorter the hair, the greater the mind (fig.) Older people are wiser.

16b ⋆ Mitä vanhempi inkivääri, sitä pistävämpi haju @ ⋆ Old ginger is hotter than new. (Chinese) meaning: Old people are more experienced

17 ⋆ Pata kattilaa soimaa, musta kylki kummallakin @ ( ⋆ Turtles should not laugh at tortoises as they both live in the mud (Chinese)

20 ⋆ Jota useampi kokki, sitä vetelämpi velli ⋆ Too much cart traffic will cause a jam; too many boats will rub against each other. (Chinese) Too many cooks spoil the broth

11 ⋆ Kaikki olemme samassa veneessä ⋆ People in the same boat share the same fate (Chinese) We are all in the same boat

22 ⋆ Ei veitsi leikkaa omaa varttaan @ ⋆ A kitchen knife cannot cut its own handle (Chinese)

13b ⋆ Sota on sokea ⋆ Swords and spears have no eyes. (Chinese)

16 ⋆ Kieli maan leikkaa ( ⋆ The highway comes out of one’s mouth. (Chinese)

19 ⋆ Parempi päätä palvella kuin häntää @ ( ⋆ Better be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox. (Chinese)

17 ⋆ Isot kalat syövät pikkukaloja ⋆ Big tigers eat smaller tigers. (Chinese) Said of traditional officials

24 ⋆ Ei ole veljeä pelissä (raha-asioissa) @ ⋆ At the gambling table, there are no fathers and sons. (Chinese)

12 ⋆ Parempi virsta väärää kuin vaaksa vaaraa ⋆ Better to walk ten (extra) steps around than to take one step into danger. (Chinese) / Better safe than sorry

17 ⋆ Rohkea rokan syö, kaino nälkään kuolee ( ⋆ Those who die of overeating are the bold, while those who die of hunger are the timid. (Chinese)

13 ⋆ Koska tammi maahan kaatu, niin on se jokaisen saatu ( ⋆ If there is water in the big rivers the smaller rivers will be full. (Chinese)

31 ⋆ Ei kahta voi tehdä: syödä ja säästää ⋆ You cannot have the both (at the same time) (Chinese)

22 ⋆ Aika on rahaa ⋆ An inch of time is an inch of gold (Chinese)

15 ⋆ Silloin takoman pitää, kun rauta on kuumana ( ⋆ Strike copper while it is cold, strike iron while it is hot. (different problems must be dealt with in different ways.)

10e ⋆ Jos on kiire, pukeudu hitaasti ( ⋆ In hurried going there are no good steps. (Chinese)