“Who doesn't have a dog hunts with a cat.”
Quem não tem cão caça com gato.
Source: Traditional Brazilian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
Traditional Brazil Wisdom
Provérbios Brasileiros
Folk & Oral Tradition
Who is Traditional Brazil Wisdom?
Traditional Brazil Wisdom gathers the proverbs and sayings (provérbios) that have been passed down orally among the Brazilian people for generations. These lines have no single named author; they are the shared inheritance of farmers, fishermen, sertanejos, grandmothers, and street storytellers who compressed hard-won experience into a few memorable words. Brazilian proverbs draw on a rich blend of Portuguese roots mixed with Indigenous and African heritage, and they often speak of animals, food, weather, work, and family. Many teach patience, thrift, resourcefulness, gratitude, and caution against haste. Because so much of Brazil grew from an oral culture of song, cordel poetry, and everyday conversation, these sayings live in the rhythm of daily speech rather than in a single fixed printed source, and small variations exist between regions and retellings. This platform records the widely recognised Portuguese forms alongside faithful English translations and, in keeping with its accuracy rule, presents them as traditional, public-domain folk wisdom rather than attributing them to any one person.
Sources: Traditional Brazilian oral tradition (provérbios), public-domain folk wisdom · Widely recognised Portuguese-language proverbs of Brazil (public domain)
Quotes by Traditional Brazil Wisdom
“Grain by grain, the hen fills her belly.”
De grão em grão, a galinha enche o papo.
Source: Traditional Brazilian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“Past waters do not turn mills.”
Águas passadas não movem moinhos.
Source: Traditional Brazilian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
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“One does not look at the teeth of a gift horse.”
Cavalo dado não se olha os dentes.
Source: Traditional Brazilian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“Whoever has a mouth reaches Rome.”
Quem tem boca vai a Roma.
Source: Traditional Brazilian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“Haste is the enemy of perfection.”
A pressa é inimiga da perfeição.
Source: Traditional Brazilian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
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“In the blacksmith's house, the skewer is made of wood.”
Em casa de ferreiro, espeto de pau.
Source: Traditional Brazilian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“Child of a fish, a little fish it is.”
Filho de peixe, peixinho é.
Source: Traditional Brazilian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“Whoever waits always reaches.”
Quem espera sempre alcança.
Source: Traditional Brazilian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
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“God helps those who rise early.”
Deus ajuda quem cedo madruga.
Source: Traditional Brazilian proverb, public-domain oral tradition