Mehnat qilmagan — non yemas.
“One who does not work does not taste bread.”
Reward and sustenance come only through honest effort; nothing worthwhile arrives without labor.
— Traditional Uzbekistan Wisdom, Uzbekistan
Source: Traditional Uzbek proverb, public-domain oral tradition
More Proverbs from Uzbekistan
A guest is more honored than one's own father.
Hospitality is a paramount value; a guest deserves the very highest respect a household can give.
Measure seven times, cut once.
Think carefully and check your work many times before taking an action that cannot be undone.
Wisdom is not in age, but in the mind.
Good judgment comes from a person's intellect and character, not simply from how many years they have lived.
A true friend is known in times of hardship.
Real friendship reveals itself when a person actually needs help, not during easy, comfortable times.
One's homeland is a golden cradle.
No matter how modest, one's own homeland offers a comfort and belonging that nowhere else can replace.
Better to be a beggar in your own land than a king in a foreign one.
Belonging and home matter more than status or power gained far away from one's own roots and people.