Laos Proverbs (49)

ຄວາຍຕາຍເຫຼືອເຂົາ ຄົນຕາຍເຫຼືອຊື່

“When the buffalo dies it leaves its horns behind; when a person dies they leave their name behind.”

A person's reputation and good name outlast their life, so it is worth guarding.

ຮູ້ໜ້າບໍ່ຮູ້ໃຈ

“One may know a face without ever knowing the heart.”

Outward appearance reveals nothing about a person's true intentions or character.

ນ້ຳຂຶ້ນໃຫ້ຮີບຕັກ

“When the water rises, hurry and scoop it.”

Take advantage of favorable conditions while they last, because they will not remain forever.

ຊ້າໆ ໄດ້ພ້າເຫຼັ້ມງາມ

“Slowly, slowly, and one gets a fine knife.”

Patience and careful work produce a better result than rushing a job.

“A distant buffalo always seems to have a long tail.”

Things and people far away seem more impressive than they really are; distance flatters what is unfamiliar.

ນ້ຳຂຶ້ນປາກິນມົດ ນ້ຳລົງມົດກິນປາ

“When the water rises, the fish eat the ants; when the water recedes, the ants eat the fish.”

Fortune and power shift with circumstance, and today's victim can become tomorrow's victor.

“Big fish eat small fish.”

The strong and powerful tend to take advantage of the weak, so the weak must stay watchful.

“One hand alone cannot clap.”

Quarrels, as well as achievements, require more than one party; cooperation and shared responsibility matter.

“A word once spoken cannot be called back, just as an arrow once loosed cannot be recalled.”

Speak carefully, because words and actions have consequences that cannot be undone.

“Build the house to suit the one who will live in it; hang the hammock to suit the one who will sleep in it.”

Decisions about a person's life and comfort should be made to suit that person, not someone else's preference.

“Among all footprints, the elephant's footprint is the greatest; it covers and encompasses the rest.”

A truly great teaching, person, or matter encompasses and outweighs all lesser ones — popularly used in Lao Buddhist communities as everyday proverbial wisdom about scale and significance.

“The mind is the forerunner of all things; as one thinks, so one becomes.”

A person's thoughts shape their words, actions, and ultimately their character and fate — a foundational teaching repeated in Lao temple life and moral instruction.

“Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world; it is appeased only by love. This is an eternal law.”

Responding to hostility with more hostility only deepens conflict; only patience and goodwill can end it, a teaching central to Lao Buddhist moral life.

“Though one may conquer a thousand men in a thousand battles, the one who conquers himself is the greatest of all conquerors.”

True victory lies in mastering one's own mind and character, not in defeating others.

“Conquer anger with calm, conquer evil with good, conquer stinginess with generosity, and conquer the liar with truth.”

Negative qualities are overcome not by matching them but by answering them with their opposite virtue.

“To avoid all evil, to cultivate what is good, and to purify one's own mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.”

Lao Buddhist moral teaching can be summarized in three steps: avoid wrongdoing, do good, and cultivate a clear mind.

“Do not look for the faults of others, or what they have done or failed to do; look instead at your own deeds, done and undone.”

It is wiser to examine and improve one's own conduct than to dwell on the shortcomings of others.

ສຽງຂອງຄົນທຸກຍາກບໍ່ໄດ້ໄປໄກ

“The voice of a poor man does not carry very far.”

In a society where wealth confers standing, poverty diminishes whose opinions are heard and heeded.

ເມື່ອຄວາຍຕໍ່ສູ້, ແມ່ນຫຍ້າທີ່ທົນທຸກ

“When the buffaloes fight, it is the grass that suffers.”

When powerful parties clash, it is the powerless bystanders who bear the cost.

ຟັງດ້ວຍຫູດຽວ; ຈະສົງໃສກັບຄົນອື່ນ

“Listen with one ear; be suspicious with the other.”

Hear out what people tell you, but keep a healthy skepticism rather than believing everything without question.

ທ່ານສາມາດງໍກິ່ງງ່າອ່ອນໄດ້, ແຕ່ມັນຍາກທີ່ຈະງໍຕົ້ນໄມ້ເກົ່າ

“You can bend a young twig, but it is hard to bend an old tree.”

Children and young people can still be guided and shaped, but habits and character become fixed with age.

ຄົນໜຶ່ງຕ້ອງຂ້າມນ້ຳຂຶ້ນ, ສູງຂຶ້ນ, ເພື່ອລົງມາຢ່າງຖືກຕ້ອງ

“One has to cross upstream, higher up, to come downstream properly.”

To reach a goal correctly, one sometimes must first put in extra effort in the harder direction.

ປາທີ່ເນົ່າເປື່ອຍໂຕດຽວເຮັດໃຫ້ກະຕ່າເປື່ອຍບໍ່ດີ

“A single rotten fish makes a basketful turn bad.”

One person's wrongdoing or carelessness can taint the reputation or work of an entire group.

“A person's stripes are inside; those of a tiger are outside.”

A tiger's markings show on its skin, but a person's true nature is hidden within and cannot be judged by looks alone.

“A tray full of money is not worth a mind full of knowledge.”

Wisdom and learning are valued above material wealth.

“Ten mouths speaking are not as good as seeing with one's own eyes; ten eyes that see are not as good as what one has in one's hand.”

Hearsay is weaker than direct observation, and observation in turn is weaker than actually possessing the thing itself.

ເຖິງແມ່ນວ່າຜູ້ທີ່ຍ່າງຕາມຫຼັງຊ້າງອາດຈະມີຄວາມປອດໄພຫຼາຍ, ແຕ່ລາວອາດຈະຖືກຂີ້ຕົມເປື້ອນ

“Although he who walks behind an elephant may feel very secure, he is likely to get splattered with elephant dung.”

Following in the shadow of someone powerful may feel safe, but it comes with its own hidden hazards.

ໝໍ້ເປົ່າເຮັດໃຫ້ສຽງດັງທີ່ສຸດ

“An empty pot makes the loudest noise.”

People with little real knowledge often talk the most; true wisdom tends to be quiet.

ກະເປົາເງິນເຕັມທີ່ບໍ່ເຄີຍຂາດໝູ່

“A full purse never lacks friends.”

Wealth attracts companions, but such friendships are often self-interested rather than genuine.

“Live with vultures, become a vulture; live with crows, become a crow.”

The company a person keeps shapes their habits and character over time.

“When you have money, you can speak; when you have wood, you can build your home.”

Resources give a person the standing and means to act; without them, both voice and ability are limited.

“If you must be a servant, serve the rich; if you must be a dog, let it be a temple dog.”

If a lowly position cannot be avoided, choose the one that offers the most dignity, security, or respect.

“Learning means loving the country.”

Gaining knowledge and education is itself an act of service and devotion to one's homeland.

“When you've heard it you must see it; when you've seen it, make a judgement with your heart.”

Verify what you hear with your own eyes, and then weigh it with sincerity and conscience before deciding.

“One piece of wood will not make a fire.”

A single effort or a single person is rarely enough; real results require several parts working together.

“You know, you teach. You do not know, you learn.”

Share your knowledge generously with others, and remain humble enough to keep learning what you do not yet know.

“You get nothing watering a stump.”

Effort spent on something already dead or hopeless produces no result, however diligent the effort.

“If you like to have things easy, you will have difficulties; if you like problems, you will succeed.”

Avoiding challenge tends to store up trouble, while facing hard problems directly tends to lead to success.

“Happiness flies away from those who want it most.”

Chasing happiness directly and desperately tends to push it further away.

“To judge an elephant, look at its tail; to judge a girl, look at her mother.”

Character can often be read from a telling detail — an elephant's tail, or the example set by a mother.

“When you are alone, be careful of your thoughts; when you are with friends, be careful of your speech.”

Discipline your private thinking when no one is watching, and discipline your words when you are around others.

“Cool water, fish live. Hot water, fish escape.”

Calm, favorable conditions let people and communities thrive, while harsh or unstable ones drive them away.

“Flee from the elephant and meet the tiger; flee the tiger and meet a crocodile.”

Equivalent to the English idea of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire — escaping one danger only to run into another.

“If you love your cow, tie it up; if you love your child, beat him.”

An old folk saying about firm discipline as a form of love, similar in spirit to the English "spare the rod, spoil the child" — a traditional attitude toward child-rearing that reflects an older era rather than a modern recommendation.

“When you enter the city of people with one eye closed, you must also close one eye.”

Equivalent to "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" — adapt to local customs even if they seem unusual.

“The same bamboo but different part. The same brother but different heart.”

People from the same family or origin can still grow into very different characters.

“Do good and receive good; do evil and receive evil.”

A karma-like golden-rule teaching, common in everyday Lao speech, that one's actions eventually return in kind.

“If you have fruit, remember the grower. If you are happy, remember where it comes from.”

A call to gratitude — trace your blessings back to the people responsible for them.

“To marry a young wife is like caring for nine old cows; to marry an old wife is like being cared for by nine mothers.”

A wry folk comparison about marriage across an age gap — a much younger spouse demands care and effort, while an older spouse offers experienced nurturing in return.