Proverbs
Old sentences people still use. The English is the sense, not a word-for-word crib.
A proverb is not a lesson. Someone says it at the gate or at the table and sits down. The first one on this page is the one people still reach for: water passes, the stones stay. The rest are the same kind of short claim — work, bread, patience, a neighbor. They sit next to the word list, not above it. For the same words inside a day, read a story.
- Apa trece, pietrele rămân. Water passes, the stones stay.
- Cine se scoală de dimineață departe ajunge. The one who rises early gets far.
- Buturuga mică răstoarnă carul mare. A small stump can overturn a big cart.
- Vorba lungă, sărăcia omului. A long speech is a person’s poverty.
- Omul sfințește locul. The person makes the place holy. Character marks a house.
- Ce ție nu-ți place, altuia nu-i face. What you dislike, do not do to another.
- Lucrul rău nu piere cu una, cu două. A bad deed does not vanish at the first try.
- Cine sapă groapa altuia cade singur în ea. Who digs a pit for another falls into it.
- Banul e ochiul dracului. Money is the devil’s eye.
- Nu da vrabia din mână pe cioara de pe gard. Do not trade the sparrow in your hand for the crow on the fence.
- La plăcinte, înainte. First to the pies. Said of someone eager only when there is something to take.
- Cine nu are bătrâni să-și cumpere. Who has no elders should buy some. Ask someone who has already lived it.
- Fie pâinea cât de rea, tot mai bine-n țara ta. However bad the bread, it is better in your own country.
- Cu răbdarea treci și marea. With patience you even cross the sea.
- Hodina e sarea muncii. Rest is the salt of work.
- Prietenul la nevoie se cunoaște. A friend is known in need.
- Cine se frige cu ciorbă suflă și în iaurt. Who was burned by soup blows on yogurt too.
- Graba strică treaba. Haste spoils the work.
- Cum îți așterni, așa vei dormi. As you make your bed, so you will sleep.
- Tăcerea e de aur. Silence is golden.
- Cine râde la urmă râde mai bine. Who laughs last laughs better.
- Vorba dulce mult aduce. A sweet word brings a lot.
- Câte bordeie, atâtea obiceie. As many cottages, so many customs. Each house keeps its own way.
- Nu lăsa pe mâine ce poți face azi. Do not leave for tomorrow what you can do today.
Some of these still name a thing this site already has a page for. Bread that is better at home sits by bread. Crossing the sea with patience sits by the sea. The house a person makes holy is on the house. A village still says one of these without opening a book.