Theory

1. PROVERBS, IDIOMS & SAYINGS
Kamila Kańska & Julia Patynek

2. PROVERBS
Proverb is a short and pithysaying that expresses
some traditionally heldtruth.
EXAMPLES:

3.  BRITISH
• Don't countyour chickensbefore
they're hatched-don't anticipatethe
future too much
• Neverjudgeabookbyitscover
- don't judge people/thingsby
their appearance

4. • Peoplewholiveinglasshouses
shouldn'tthrowstones-don't
criticize others'faultsifyou
sufferfrom themyourself
• Manyhandsmakelightwork-a
lot ofpeople helpingmakesa job
easier

5.  POLISH
• „Co dwie głowy, to nie
jedna” -twoheadsarebetter
thanone-meaning like inmany
handsmakelightwork
• „Co ma wisieć, nie utonie” -
what'ssupposed tobehanging,won't
sink -there are things in our lives that
we have no control over

6. • „Strach ma wielkie
oczy” - fear'sgothuge
eyes-thingswe are afraid
ofare hardlyever as scary
as wethink
• „Przyganiał kocioł garnkowi,
a sam smoli” - acauldronrebuked
thepot,andhesmudged himself -
meaning the same as inpeople who
liveinglasshousesshouldn'tthrow
stones

7.  ALL AROUND THE WORLD
• CHINESE:
Learntillold,livetillold,
andthereisstillthree-
tenthsnotlearned- no
matterhowold you are,
thereisstillmorelearning
or studying leftto do.
• JAPANESE:
FallSEVEn times,
standupeight–
Whenlifeknocks you
down, standback up

8. • RUSSIAN:
Meaning:
ifit lookslikesomething is wr
ong,something probablyis
WRONG
• HUNGARIAN:
„A tiltott gyümölcs a legédesebb” -
Forbiddenfruit issweet–
Things that you must nothave or do arealways
the most desirable
• ITALIAN:
„A chi vuole, non mancano modi”
MEANING: If you are sufficiently determined to
achieve something, then you will find a way of
doing so

9. IDIOMS
Idiomis a groupof words with a meaning different
from the individualwords, typical for a country/
culture
EXAMPLES:

10.  BRITISH
• KILLTWOBIRDSWITH
ONESTONE-solve two
problems withone action at
thesame time
• KICKTHE
BUCKET – TO
DIE

11. • CURIOSITYKILLEDTHE
CAT-being toocurious
cangetintotrouble(it's
betternottobenosy)
• SPILLTHEBEANS-reveal a
secret or a surprise by
accident

12.  POLISH
• „Co ma piernik do
wiatraka?” - what has
gingerbread to do with a windmill? -
one thing has nothing to do with
the other (what has that todo with
anything?)
• „Kłamstwo ma krótkie
nogi” - alie hasshort legs -
truth will always berevealed
(truth will out)

13. • „Nie ucz ojca dzieci
robić” -don'tteachafather
howtomakechildren-don't
offeradvice tosomeone
having more experiencethan
you (don't teachyour
grandmotherhow tosuck
eggs)

14. • „Znaleźć się między
młotem a kowadłem”/
„między Scyllą a
Charybdą” - tobecaught
betweenahammerandananvil/
betweenScyllaandCharybdis*-
tobe ina dead end (having to
choose between two devils)
*actually it is a Greek (derives from the
Greek mythology) idiom but we normally
use it
polish dish
• „Nudne jak flaki z
olejem” - dullastripe
inoil- mindnumbing (dull
as dishwater)

15.  ALLaroundthe world
• GERMAN:
„Tomaten auf den Augen
haben” – tohavetomatoes on
your eyes– to not seeing what
everyone else can see ( it refers to
real objects)
• SWEDISH:
„Det är ingen ko på
isen” – THEre’snocowonthe
ice- There’s no need to worry

16. • THAI:
„ชาติหน้าตอนบ่าย ๆ” -One
afternooninyournext
reincarnation-It’snever
gonnahappen
• FRENCH:
„Les carottes sont
cuites!” - The carrots are
cooked! - The situationcan’t
be changed
• DUTCH:
„Iets voor een appel en
een ei kopen” -Buying
something foranappleandan
egg- you bought it very cheaply

17. SAYings
short, clever expression that usually contains advice
or expresses some obvious truth.
ExaMples:

18.  BRItish
• Neverdoevilthat
good maycome
ofit– Don’t do
something bad to
achieve
something good
Ifwegetsomething(like
money)easilyandwithout
effort,wecanloseiteasilytoo.
• Goodwineneeds
nobush-
Something of good
quality does not
need to be
advertised.

19. • Factsarestubbornthings-Wecannot
avoid thetruth,even when itis not
whatwe wanttohear or express
• Oncebitten,twiceshy
– We have to learn
from our mistakes

20.  POlish
• „Wysoki jak brzoza, a głupi
jak koza” - Highasabirch, stupid as
agoat– someone who iswell-bulid but
silly
• „Patrzyć się jak sroka w
gnat” – tostareatsomething like
amagpieatthe bone - glaring at
someting without looking away

21. • „Gdyby kózka nie
skakała, to by nóżki nie
złamała” – ifthegoathadn’t
beenjumping,itwouldn’thave
broken itsleg–ifsomeonehad
minded,hewouldn’thave paid
thepenalty
• „Stać jak słup
soli” - standlikeasalt
column– to freeze
• „Patrzyć się jak ciele
w malowane wrota”
– stareatsomethinglikea
calfatthepaintedgate– to
glare atsomething

22.  Allaroundthe world
• Finnish:
„Päästää
sammakko
suusta”
• Portuguese:
„Alimentar um
burro a pão-
de-ló”
• Russian:
„Exatj zajcem”

23.  Sources:
• http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/proverbs.html
• http://www.lexiophiles.com/polski/polskie-idiomy
• http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
• "English Idioms Dictionary" Cambridge University Press
• http://www.polskatradycja.pl
• "English Vocabulary in Use upper-intermediate & advanced" Cambridge
University Press
• http://blog.ted.com/40-idioms-that-cant-be-translated-literally/
• https://www.englishclub.com/ref/Sayings/
• http://www.hotelclub.com/blog/idioms-of-the-world-
infographic/?clickID=LSUS&WT.mc_id=16540
• http://thecultureur.com/around-the-world-in-52-proverbs/
• https://www.wikipedia.org
• https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Main_Page
• https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Main_Page