Українські прислів'я
Folk & Oral Tradition
Traditional Ukraine Wisdom gathers the proverbs and sayings (прислів'я та приказки) that have been passed down orally among the Ukrainian people for generations. These lines have no single named author; they are the shared inheritance of farmers, Cossacks, mothers, and village elders who compressed hard-won experience into a few memorable words. Ukrainian proverbs draw richly on the land — wheat fields, rivers, ponds, wolves, and sparrows — as well as on hospitality, honest labour, friendship, and caution in speech. Much of this wisdom was gathered and preserved in the nineteenth century by folklorists, most notably Matviy Nomys, whose 1864 collection 'Українські приказки, прислів'я і таке інше' recorded thousands of sayings from across the Ukrainian lands. Because these proverbs live in everyday speech rather than in a fixed printed source, small variations exist between regions and retellings. This platform records the widely recognised forms and, in keeping with its accuracy rule, presents them as traditional rather than attributing them to any one person.
Sources: M. Nomys, 'Українські приказки, прислів'я і таке інше' (Ukrainian Sayings and Proverbs), 1864 · Traditional Ukrainian oral tradition (прислів'я та приказки), public-domain folk wisdom
“A word is not a sparrow — once it flies out, you won't catch it.”
Слово не горобець, вилетить — не спіймаєш.
Source: Traditional Ukrainian proverb, public-domain oral tradition (recorded in M. Nomys, 'Українські приказки, прислів'я і таке інше', 1864)
“Without effort you cannot even pull a fish out of the pond.”
Без праці не витягнеш і рибку зі ставка.
Source: Traditional Ukrainian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“Do not say 'hop' until you have jumped over.”
Не кажи гоп, поки не перескочиш.
Source: Traditional Ukrainian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“Quiet water breaks the dam.”
Тиха вода греблю рве.
Source: Traditional Ukrainian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“The tongue will lead you all the way to Kyiv.”
Язик до Києва доведе.
Source: Traditional Ukrainian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“Friends are known in times of trouble.”
Друзі пізнаються в біді.
Source: Traditional Ukrainian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“Not all that glitters is gold.”
Не все те золото, що блищить.
Source: Traditional Ukrainian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“The wolf is fed by its legs.”
Вовка ноги годують.
Source: Traditional Ukrainian proverb, public-domain oral tradition
“He who does not work, does not eat.”
Хто не працює, той не їсть.
Source: Traditional Ukrainian proverb, public-domain oral tradition