Taiwan Proverbs (50)

一枝草，一點露。

“Every blade of grass carries its own drop of dew.”

Heaven provides for every living thing in its own way; everyone has their own fate and opportunity, so there is no need to despair.

三分天註定，七分靠打拚。

“Three parts are destined by heaven, seven parts depend on hard work.”

Fate plays only a small role in success; the greater share depends on one's own effort and struggle.

天公疼憨人。

“Heaven favors the honest fool.”

Plain, sincere people who do not scheme against others are ultimately protected and rewarded by fortune.

近廟欺神。

“Living near the temple, one grows disrespectful of the gods.”

Familiarity breeds contempt; what is closest to us is often the thing we take most for granted.

食果子拜樹頭。

“When you eat the fruit, give thanks to the tree.”

Never forget the roots or the people who made your good fortune possible.

人兩跤，錢四跤。

“People have two legs, but money has four.”

Money always seems to move faster than the person chasing it; wealth is hard to catch and easy to lose.

食緊挵破碗。

“Eat too fast and you will break the bowl.”

Rushing carelessly through a task leads to mistakes; slow down and do things properly.

打斷手骨顛倒勇。

“A broken arm bone heals back stronger than before.”

Hardship and setbacks, once overcome, can leave a person tougher and more capable than before.

生雞卵無，放雞屎有。

“Lays no eggs, but leaves droppings everywhere.”

Describes someone who contributes nothing of value yet still manages to cause trouble and mess for others.

牛牽到北京嘛是牛。

“Even led all the way to Beijing, an ox is still an ox.”

A person's true character or stubborn nature does not change simply because their surroundings do.

戲棚跤徛久就是你的。

“Stand long enough at the foot of the stage, and it becomes yours.”

Patience and persistence eventually win out; staying the course outlasts those who give up early.

細空無補，大空叫苦。

“A small hole left unmended becomes a big hole crying for help.”

Fix small problems while they are still small, or they will grow into serious trouble later.

人咧做，天咧看。

“People act, and Heaven watches.”

Your actions do not go unseen, so act with integrity even when no one else appears to be watching.

一樣米飼百樣人。

“One kind of rice feeds a hundred kinds of people.”

People turn out remarkably different from one another even when raised under very similar conditions.

囡仔人有耳無喙。

“Children have ears, but no mouth.”

A traditional reminder that children should listen carefully to their elders rather than speak out of turn.

得失土地公，飼無雞。

“Offend the local Earth God, and you will not be able to raise chickens.”

Cross a local authority or gatekeeper and even the small, ordinary parts of daily life become difficult.

近山剉無柴，近溪擔無水。

“Near the mountain, yet no firewood cut; near the stream, yet no water carried.”

Having resources or opportunity close at hand means nothing without the effort to actually make use of it.

輸人不輸陣。

“You may lose as a person, but never let your side lose as a team.”

Individual pride can bend, but collective spirit and effort should never give up, even in the face of defeat.

好歹在心內，喙脣皮相款待。

“Keep the good and bad inside your heart, but greet others politely on the surface.”

A call for social tact: private feelings need not always show outwardly in one's manners toward others.

呷人一口，還人一斗。

“Eat one mouthful from someone, repay a full measure in return.”

Kindness received should be repaid generously, far beyond the size of the original favor.

細漢偷挽匏，大漢偷牽牛。

“Steal a gourd as a child, and you will steal an ox as an adult.”

Small bad habits left uncorrected in youth tend to grow into serious wrongdoing later in life.

一好沒兩好。

“You can have one good thing, but rarely two goods at once.”

Nothing in life is perfect on every side; gaining one advantage often means giving up another.

有錢使鬼會挨磨。

“With enough money, you can even make a ghost push the millstone.”

Money has the power to move seemingly impossible obstacles and persuade the most unwilling of people.

船到橋頭自然直。

“When the boat reaches the bridge, it will straighten itself out naturally.”

Do not over-worry about problems ahead of time; solutions often present themselves when the moment actually arrives.

龜笑鱉無尾，鱉笑龜粗皮。

“The turtle laughs at the terrapin for having no tail, and the terrapin laughs at the turtle for its rough shell.”

Two people who share the same flaw mock one another for it, blind to their own equal fault.

呷碗內，看碗外。

“Eating from one's own bowl while eyeing what is in another's.”

Describes greed or discontent: never satisfied with what one already has while coveting what belongs to others.

一人一家代，公媽隨人祀。

“Each family has its own affairs; each household worships its own ancestors.”

Every household has its own circumstances and path; mind your own affairs rather than judging how others manage theirs.

甘蔗無雙頭甜。

“Sugarcane is never sweet at both ends.”

Nothing in life is good in every respect; every advantage comes paired with some drawback.

好額毋過三代。

“Wealth rarely survives past three generations.”

Riches gained by one generation are often lost within a few more if descendants grow careless or idle.

嫁雞隨雞，嫁狗隨狗。

“Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog.”

Once committed to a marriage, a spouse accepts whatever fortune or hardship follows.

龍生龍，鳳生鳳，老鼠的囝仔會拍洞。

“Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and even a rat's children know how to dig a hole.”

Children tend to inherit their parents' nature and abilities, for better or worse.

一兼二顧，摸蜊仔兼洗褲。

“Catching clams while washing your pants — two useful things done at once.”

Handle two useful tasks at the same time instead of wasting effort on just one.

食人的嘴軟，提人的手短。

“Eat another's food and your words grow soft; take another's things and your reach grows short.”

Accepting favors or gifts from someone makes it harder to criticize or refuse them afterward.

見笑轉受氣。

“Shame, once cornered, turns into anger.”

People who feel embarrassed or exposed often lash out in anger rather than admit fault.

佛要金裝，人要衣裝。

“The Buddha needs gilding, and a person needs fine clothes.”

Appearance and presentation shape how both a shrine and a person are respected by others.

大隻雞慢啼。

“A big rooster crows late.”

People of real talent or greatness often take longer to mature and find their moment to shine.

冤家變親家。

“Enemies today, in-laws tomorrow.”

Even bitter rivals can end up reconciled and close, since circumstances and relationships can turn completely around.

目睭花花，匏仔看做菜瓜。

“With blurred eyes, a gourd is mistaken for a loofah.”

Careless or clouded judgment leads a person to mistake one thing for another.

生的請一邊，養的恩情較大天。

“Set the birth parent aside — the one who raised you carries a debt of gratitude greater than the sky.”

The devotion of whoever actually raises and nurtures a child outweighs the mere fact of giving birth.

也著神，也著人。

“You need the gods' blessing, and you also need your own effort.”

Good fortune comes from a combination of divine favor and one's own hard work — neither alone is enough.

有量才有福。

“Only with a tolerant heart comes true fortune.”

A generous, forgiving spirit is what ultimately invites lasting good fortune into a person's life.

未曾學行，就要學飛。

“Before you have even learned to walk, you already want to learn to fly.”

A warning against overreaching beyond one's actual level before mastering the basics.

千算萬算，不值天一劃。

“A thousand calculations, ten thousand calculations — none worth a single stroke of heaven's plan.”

No matter how carefully a person schemes, fate or circumstance can still overturn every plan.

天下無不是的父母。

“Under heaven, there are no parents in the wrong.”

A traditional call for children to honor their parents' good intentions rather than dwell on their faults.

一樣生，百樣死。

“Born one way, but people die a hundred different ways.”

Life's beginnings look alike, but fate and circumstance send people down wildly different, unpredictable paths.

食好倒相報。

“Find something good, and pass the word along to others.”

Good things, such as a good meal or a good idea, are meant to be shared, not kept only for oneself.

近水知魚性，近山識鳥音。

“Live close to the water and you learn the nature of fish; live close to the mountain and you learn the song of birds.”

Sustained closeness and experience with something naturally builds deep, practical understanding of it.

三年一閏，好歹照輪。

“Every three years brings a leap year, and good luck and bad luck take their turns just the same.”

Fortune and misfortune cycle through everyone's life in turn; no run of luck, good or bad, lasts forever.

未食五日節粽，破裘毋甘放。

“Before you've eaten your Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings, don't dare put away your winter coat.”

A seasonal weather saying: the cold does not fully let go until after the Dragon Boat Festival, so winter clothing should not be put away too early.

人善被人欺，馬善被人騎。

“A kind person gets bullied, just as a docile horse gets ridden.”

Excessive gentleness or kindness can invite others to take advantage, so kindness needs limits.