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Living a life is not an easy task, especially if you want to live it well. There are things you have to learn from your own experience as you go, but there are also things that are universal and don’t change as centuries pass by. From time immemorial, people have tried to accumulate that knowledge and relay it to the coming generations. This is how proverbs came to exist.

A proverb is a short saying, usually just one or two sentences, that contains a piece of truth about life. They are very succinct and express a deep philosophical concept in just a few words. These old sayings come from the time when people still very much relied on oral communication and instead of writing things down, would just repeat them from one person to another until they became common knowledge.  

As it often happens when things are disseminated by word of mouth, some parts of proverbs have been forgotten. Some of the common proverbs we use today initially had a different meaning, but parts of it got lost over time. That’s why if you want to know the full meaning of a particular proverb, it can be helpful to consult a scientific source.   

Interestingly, some common sayings can be found in different cultures. Though worded in various ways, they essentially portray the same truth. This shows that some things are equally important for everyone, no matter where you come from. 

For this article, we collected popular proverbs from all over the world. Which one do you like the most? Let us know in the comments if you have any favorite sayings that you live by. 

#2

Turn your face toward the sun and the shadows fall behind you.

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AnnaJ718
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's that song from the movie "Home"!!!! I am in love with that song

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#3

It’s not enough to learn how to ride, you must also learn how to fall.

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#5

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

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#8

Mind your own business.

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#9

There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out.

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Charles Mayberry
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This. Ignorance is normal, there's always things we don't know. Willful ignorance is another matter. Ignorance can be fixed. But you can't fix willful ignorance (willful ignorance can also rightly be called stupid)

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#10

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

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#11

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

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Robert T
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Letterboxes need to learn from this one. Got bitten by several of them delivering leaflets the other day!

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#12

All good things must come to an end.

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Headless Roach
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also, everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright - it’s not the end.

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#13

Better late than never.

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#16

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it.

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lauralett50
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always heard it continues as follows:. You can give a man a brain, but you can't make him think .

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#18

Laughter is the best medicine.

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#19

It takes a whole village to raise a child.

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#20

Even though you know a thousand things, ask the man who knows one.

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#21

Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

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#22

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.

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#23

Even from a foe a man may learn wisdom.

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#27

Curiosity killed the cat.

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#28

The forbidden fruit is always the sweetest.

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#31

People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

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#33

You can’t always get what you want.

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#34

Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

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#35

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

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#37

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

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#39

If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing.

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#40

A watched pot never boils.

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#41

Beggars can’t be choosers.

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K W
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They deserve to have boundaries and dignity though.

#42

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.

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Sara
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unless you are throwing them away because they are rotten.

#43

If you play with fire, you’ll get burned.

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#44

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

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#45

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

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#46

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

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#47

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

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#49

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

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#50

Out of sight, out of mind.

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#51

Learn to walk before you run.

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Hugh Cookson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A more prescient one is ' learn to swim before you jump into deep water'

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#54

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

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#55

Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.

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#56

Where one door shuts, another opens.

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Robert T
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or "When one door opens, another slams shut", or at least it does in my house when it's windy out. ;-)

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#58

Time waits for no one.

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Sara
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What if I get stuck in traffic and call to let Time know I'm running a bit behind?

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#59

Fall seven times, stand up eight.

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#60

The tree with most leaves will not necessarily produce juicy fruit.

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#62

Cheese, wine, and friends must be old to be good.

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#63

Easy come, easy go.

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#64

God helps those who help themselves.

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#65

The pen is mightier than the sword.

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#66

There is no time like the present.

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#68

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

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#69

Many hands make light work.

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Sara
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's why there are so many people standing around during road construction and why it takes so damn long for them to finish.

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#70

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

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lauralett50
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It took I believe three years. In other words something may take longer than you think it will

#72

Don’t make a mountain out of an anthill (or molehill).

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#73

Every cloud has a silver lining.

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#74

Every dog has its day.

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#75

Practice what you preach.

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#79

Necessity is the mother of invention.

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#80

The longest mile is the last mile home.

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#81

If you snooze, you lose.

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#84

Birds of a feather flock together.

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#86

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

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#88

If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.

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#89

A rolling stone gathers no moss.

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#90

All that glitters is not gold.

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#93

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

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#94

Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you.

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#95

Cowards die many times before their deaths.

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#96

Beauty is only skin-deep.

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Nicole Weymann
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"..., but no man ever fell for an attractive pair of kidneys", as PTerry wrote.

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#97

While the cat’s away, the mice will play.

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#98

It never rains, but it pours.

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lauralett50
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Get a bigger umbrella.,Ella ,Ella ,Ella,eh eh,eh, eh eh eh,eh.

#99

Don’t cross the bridge until you come to it.

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#101

You made your bed, now you have to lie in it.

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#103

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

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#105

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

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#106

Practice makes perfect.

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Will Cable
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Again It is something you would think is right but let us look at the evidence....politicians have been in power for many years and they still haven't got things right.

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#109

Begin to weave and God will give the thread.

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#110

The work praises the man.

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Joy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Really agree with this one. A job well done delivers its own pat on the back.

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#114

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

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#117

You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

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#119

Birds of a feather flock together.

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Sara
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And sometimes the males fight to the death for the females attention

#120

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to act.

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#121

Love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

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#122

Don't cast pearls before swine.

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Emily Taylor
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pearls: knowledge, Swine: animals Don't waste your time sharing all your ideas and wisdom with those who are incapable of appreciating it or doing anything with it.

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#125

Truth is more valuable if it takes you a few years to find it.

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#126

Hunger is felt by a slave and hunger is felt by a king.

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Nicole Weymann
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is a very abstract analogy. Might as well compare a missing shingle in a palace roof with a homeless person's leaky cardboard fridge box and say both their homes suffer in the rain. They sure do, but for one of them it's a permanent danger to their health while for the other one it's a momentary inconvenience equivalent to a mild itch on the nose.

#127

The best candle is understanding.

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#128

Don’t put too many irons in the fire.

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#129

Like father, like son.

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#130

As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.

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#131

Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.

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#132

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.

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#133

Half truth is whole lie.

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#136

Cleanliness is next to godliness.

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Nicole Weymann
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only in some very abbreviated dictionaries (thanks again, PTerry) and if you're a sanctimonious, conceited prick.

#138

He who hesitates is lost.

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lauralett50
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My friend was hesitant about getting on the plane. The one that hit a tower on 9-11.

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#143

An idle brain is the devil’s workshop.

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John Barber
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

*hands, not brain. You should do some research before you post this stuff. You're not very good at it.