Afghanistan proverbs

"Glassman script" is the primary English alphabet for transliterating Dari (one of the national langugages of Afghanistan). Whoever wants to throw up some Pashtu proverbs or whatnot, feel free--then we'll figure out some way to organize these according to Dari, Pashut, Uzbek, or any of the other languages spoken. In the meantime, these are all Dari.

A - B - D - E - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - R - S - T - V - W - Z

A

• Dari proverb: "AftAb ba du angushst put na-mesha."
  • The sun cannot be hidden by two fingers.

• "alao alao bE az palao."
  • Fire, fire’s better than rice!

• "archi bEkArEn, amu-ra mEdrawEn."
  • Whatever you sow, you reap.

• "ar sang ba pA-e bezelang."
  • Every rock strikes the feet of the poor.

• "arzAn bE ellat nes, qImat bE (h)ekmat."
  • The cheap thing isn’t without problem, the expensive without help.

• "az Bad kada badtar shud!"
  • Instead of better, it got worse!

"Az bad badtaresh toba" Fear the worse.

B

"bAd as ar tArIkI, rOshanI st." After every darkness is light.

"bAr-e kaj ba manzel na-mErasa." A tilted load won’t reach its destination.

"Bad bakhta sare khod yaad megeeran, khosh bakhta sare deegaran." Unfortunates learn from their own mistakes, and the lucky ones learn from other's mistakes.

"Ba solha goftan dunya aram namaisha." World will not find rest by just saying "peace."

C

"Cheeze ke ayaan ast, chee ajat ba bayan ast." That which is obvious has no need to be explained.

D

• "dEwAlA mUsh dAra, mUshA gOsh."
  • Walls have mice, mice [have] ears.
  • Puzzle in English: mice have ears to hear with, or ears of grain to eat?

• "dOst amUs ke dest-e dOsta da perEshAn AlI O dar mAndagIsh bIgIra."
  • A real friend takes the hand of his friend in overwhelming worry and fire.

• "du tarbUz da yak dest grefta na-mesha."
  • Two watermelons can’t be grabbed in one hand.

"Da ghow ghowe sag darya mordar namaisha." The river won't get dirty just by the dog's bark.

E

"Ech gul bEkhAr Nes." No flower is without thorns.

F

G

"gul pusht O rUi na-dAra." The flower has no front or back.

H

J

"Jangal ke dar greft, khusk O tar mEsOza." If a forest catches fire, both the dry and the wet will burn.

"jOyenda yAbenda st." The seeker is a finder.

K

"kO ar qadr ke beland bAsha, bAz Am sar-e khud rA dAra." However tall the mountain is, there’s a road to the top of it.

"kO ba kO na-mErasa. Adam ba Adam mErasa." A mountain doesn't reach out to mountain, (but) a man is reaching out to a man.

Headline text

L

M

"Mesl-e bulbul shIrIn gap mezanI." You talk sweet like the bulbul bird.

N

"nAn O pyAz? pEshAnI wAz!" Only bread and an onion? Your life’s still an open one!

O

P

"panj angusht brAdar as. barAbar nes." Five fingers are brothers, not equals.

Q

R

S

"sabr talkh as, wale ba(h)are shIrIn dAra." Patience is bitter, but it has a sweet fruit.

"sAl-e NekO az bahAresh paidAs." A good year is determined by its spring.

T

• "tA shamAl na-bAsha, darakht shOr na-mEkhura."
  • As long as there is no wind, the tree won’t blow.

• "tA wakht-e rIsh, dunyA ba tashwIsh. tA wakht-e pakul, ama ganz O gul."
  • As long as the beard exists, the world clenches its fists. As long as the pakul hat exists, the world stutters in fits.

U

V

W

X

Y

"yak roz dIdI dOst, dEga roz dIdi brAdar." The first day you see a friend; the next day, a brother.

Z

"Zakhm-e bad jOr mEsha. gap-e bad nE." A wound will heal. Talk won’t.