Salawikain
Folk & Oral Tradition
Traditional Philippines Wisdom gathers the proverbs and sayings (salawikain, also called sawikain or kasabihan) that have been passed down orally among the Filipino people for many generations. These lines carry no single named author; they are the shared inheritance of farmers, fisherfolk, elders, and storytellers across the archipelago who compressed hard-won experience into a few memorable words. Filipino proverbs often draw on rice farming, the sea, animals, family duty, faith, and neighborly cooperation (bayanihan), and they teach perseverance, thrift, gratitude, humility, and caution in both action and speech. Many were first recorded in Tagalog and other regional languages, though similar sayings appear across the country's more than a hundred languages and cultures. Because they live in everyday speech rather than in a single fixed printed source, small variations exist between regions and retellings. This platform records the widely recognized forms and, in keeping with its accuracy rule, presents them as traditional folk wisdom rather than attributing them to any one person.
Sources: Damiana L. Eugenio, The Proverbs (Philippine Folk Literature Series), University of the Philippines Press · Traditional Filipino oral tradition (salawikain), public-domain folk wisdom
“He who does not look back to where he came from will never reach his destination.”
Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa paroroonan.
Source: Traditional Filipino proverb (salawikain), public-domain oral tradition; widely attributed in Philippine culture.
“If there is perseverance, there is stew.”
Kapag may tiyaga, may nilaga.
Source: Traditional Filipino proverb (salawikain), public-domain oral tradition.
“Mercy is with God, but action is with man.”
Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa.
Source: Traditional Filipino proverb (salawikain), public-domain oral tradition.
“He who walks too fast, if pricked by a thorn, is pricked deeply.”
Ang lumakad nang matulin, kung matinik ay malalim.
Source: Traditional Filipino proverb (salawikain), public-domain oral tradition.
“A person in a tight spot will cling even to a blade.”
Ang taong nagigipit, sa patalim kumakapit.
Source: Traditional Filipino proverb (salawikain), public-domain oral tradition.
“Whatever the tree is, so is its fruit.”
Kung ano ang puno, siya ang bunga.
Source: Traditional Filipino proverb (salawikain), public-domain oral tradition.
“Spend all your blessings today, and tomorrow you will be left staring.”
Ubos-ubos biyaya, bukas ay nakatunganga.
Source: Traditional Filipino proverb (salawikain), public-domain oral tradition.
“If you tuck something away, you will have something to pull out.”
Pag may isinuksok, may madudukot.
Source: Traditional Filipino proverb (salawikain), public-domain oral tradition.
“What use is the grass when the horse is already dead?”
Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo?
Source: Traditional Filipino proverb (salawikain), public-domain oral tradition.
“A wounded hero's courage only doubles.”
Ang bayaning nasusugatan, nag-iibayo ang tapang.
Source: Traditional Filipino proverb (salawikain), public-domain oral tradition.