Russian Proverbs

Below are some 510 Russian proverbs, gleaned from the collections listed near the bottom of the page. They reflect hard-won Russian ideas. Many are in common with those of other folks.

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A bachelor is a goose without water.

A bad compromise is better than a good battle.

A constant guest is never welcome.

A Cossack isn't a Cossack without a horse.

A crab is not a fish; a bat is not a bird; a hen-pecked husband is not a man.

A crowd is not company.

A fish begins to stink from the head.

A fortune is not always a friend; but a friend is always a fortune.

A friend is not so soon gotten as lost.

A girl must commit sins, otherwise she has nothing to atone for.

A girl's modesty lasts only till you get her over the doorsill.

A goat on the hill looks higher than a cow in the meadow.

A gold hammer will break down an iron door.

A good deed is never lost.

A good husband is father to his wife.

A good man is good inside; a good horse is good outside.

A good millstone will grind any grain; a bad millstone will grind itself away.

A good reputation sits at home, a bad one runs about town.

A guest should not have to honour his host; a host should honour his guest.

A handful of dirt is pleasing if it's your own land.

A handsome cage doesn't feed the bird.

A hundred friends are not too many; one enemy is.

A kind word now is better than a pie later.

A lamb at home is better than a cow abroad.

A laughing bride - a weeping wife; a weeping bride - a laughing wife.

A man and a dog belong outdoors; a woman and a cat belong indoors.

A new friend: a frozen stream in Spring.

A pig in the parlour is still a pig.

A place for everything and everything in its place.

A pot of luck is better than a sack of wisdom.

A pot of oats on the fire sings its own praise.

A promised horse won't pull the cart.

A saint abroad and a devil at home.

A scholar may sometimes be a fool.

A spoon of tar will spoil a cask of honey.

A stick has two ends. Cf. There are two sides to every question.

A wife is not an instrument you can hang on the wall when you're tired playing on it.

A wife is very dear to her husband twice: the day he marries her and the day he buries her.

A wise companion cuts the journey in half.

A woman laughs when she must, and cries when she likes.

A word is not a bird: once on the wing it can never be caught again.

A word to the wise is sufficient.

Afraid or not, you will have to face your fate.

After your head is cut off, you won't cry over your hair.

After you've had it seven years, you'll know what to do with it.

All are not merry that dance lightly.

All Cossacks do not become captains.

All flesh is not venison.

All girls are good – then where do bad wives come from?

All lay loads on the willing horse.

All roads lead to Moscow.

All that glitters is not gold.

All that trembles do not fall.

All the brave men are in prison.

An old bridegroom does not stay married long.

An old tree screeches but stands while the young one falls.

An ox gets caught by the horn, a man by the tongue.

An untried friend: an uncracked nut.

Annie's a fine girl according to her mother or grandmother.

Anyone can be a sailor (pilot) on a calm sea.

Anyone can be a sailor on a calm sea.

As often as you fall, get up.

As proud as an eagle, as brave as a hen.

As the horse remarked: the grass will last our lifetime; and after that, who cares?

Ask a lot, but take what is offered.

At a fire, water is precious.

At the bottom of the wine you will always find dregs.

Be friends with the wolf, but keep one hand on your axe.

Be what you appear to be.

Beat water and it's still water (you won't get grease on its surface).

Before a fight two men are boasters; afterwards, only one.

Before you die, first pay the priest.

Beginnings [can be] hard.

Better beg than steal, better work than beg.

Better beneath the old man's beard than the young man's whip.

Better bread and water than cake and trouble.

Better give the egg than the hen.

Better smaller but better.

Better spare at brim than at bottom.

Better the first quarrel than the last.

Better to suffer ill than to do ill.

Better to trade at a loss than steal at a profit.

Better to turn back than lose your way.

Better your own crust than your neighbour's pie.

Between a woman's yes and no, it's hard to fit a needle.

Betwixt life and death: not room for a flea to jump.

Beware the horns of the bull, the heels of the donkey, and the heart of the monk.

Big fish swallow little fish, and swallow them whole.

Birth, baptism, banns, and burial have one thing in common: the outstretched palm of a priest.

Bitter pills may have blessed effects.

Bread and salt may be happily shared, but tobacco is best kept private.

Bury memory like a stone in water • only a bubble or two will show.

Care for your clothes from the day the tailor delivers; care for your honour from the day your beard sprouts.

Caution is the parent of safety.

Chase two hares and you'll catch neither.

Conscience is a thousand witnesses.

Death is blood brother to the Russian soldier.

Death is not like your brother - you can't argue with him.

Death is not over the hills but over your shoulder.

Debt and Misery live on the same road.

Defend yourself against the robber with a club; against the official with a rouble.

Diamond cut diamond.

Do not dig a hole for somebody else, lest you fall in it yourself.

Do not guarantee a watch, a horse, or a wife.

Do not hang everything on one nail.

Do not judge a house by its appearance but by the warmth of the welcome.

Do not try to drive the sleigh that isn't yours.

Don't ask the ox to take a drink, but to carry the water-buckets.

Don't blame Tom for Jerry's fault.

Don't bother to be born handsome or good – just be born lucky.

Don't choose your bride before you choose your broker.

Don't collect straw for your neighbour's roof while your own is leaking.

Don't count your chickens till they hatch.

Don't drive your horse with the whip – use the oat bag.

Don't go round the world for a shortcut.

Don't hang all you own on one nail.

Don't look now, but someone is stealing your potatoes.

Don't praise the wheat until it's in the sack, the squire until he's in the coffin.

Don't save the egg and lose the hen.

Don't spit into the well - you'll be thirsty by-and-by.

Don't take along your own rules when you enter a strange monastery.

Don't worry if you borrow - only if you lend.

Drink at table, not behind a post.

Dry straw should keep out of reach of fire.

Eat your food, dear guests - otherwise we'll just throw it to the dogs.

Empty barrels (vessels) make the greatest noise (sound).

Even a blind horse can pull the cart, if he is led.

Even a foolish wife won't tell her husband the truth.

Even a sick wolf can handle a lamb.

Even a swallow has a heart.

Even crooked sticks burn straight.

Even if Truth is buried in a gold box, it will break out and come to light.

Even nightingales can't live on fairy tales.

Even small fish make a good soup.

Even spring has no delight in a strange land.

Even the doorstep of the rich finds itself embarrassed by the poor.

Every animal is fond of its own fur.

Every fool goes mad in his own way.

Every sandpiper is great in his own swamp.

Everyone looks out from his own belfry.

Everyone loves the tree that shelters him.

Expensive medicines are always good: if not for the patient at least for the druggist.

Experience is often a substitute for learning.

Facts are stubborn things.

Feed the wolf as much as you like, still he looks back to the forest.

Fine words don't fatten the cabbage.

Fish seek deeper water, men a better life.

For women to bear children isn't easy, but to keep quiet is really hard.

Give a child seven nannies, and it is sure to be neglected.

Give the nut to the beauty, and the rose to the sage.

Give your wife too much leeway and you'll steal from yourself.

Giving a present to the rich is like giving water to the sea.

God has many days left • there's plenty of time to work.

God is too high and the czar is too far.

God sends short horns to a cursed cow.

Gold is heavy, but it rises to the top.

Gold is tested by fire, men by gold.

Good cheap is dear.

Good health is priceless.

Good porridge was never spoiled by butter.

Good wine needs no bush.

Grass doesn't grow on a busy street (highway).

Great thieves hang little ones.

Hair by hair, you can pluck out the whole beard.

Happiness and health go out by hundredweights and come back by ounces.

He aimed at the crow and hit the crow.

He bowed when he borrowed from me, I bowed when I collected from him.

He doesn't know the worst of life, who hasn't a handsome young widow to wife.

He has been sent to count the birches in Siberia.

He is so mean he tries to skim the cream off mud.

He is so mean you can't borrow snow from him in winter.

He is young, but he has read old books.

He runs from the bear right among the wolves.

He that has a wife has a master.

He that has friends has no friend.

He went for wool, and came home shorn.

He went to the courthouse with his best coat on, but he came home naked.

He who fears sparrows never plants grain.

He who is fated for the gallows need not fear the sea.

He who rushes at life dies young.

Hens shouldn't crow like roosters.

His thoughts are over the mountains; danger is over his shoulder.

I can't means I won't.

I escaped from a bear in the woods, and ran into my mother-in-law at home.

I see the church; as for the tavern, I'd better ask my way.

I would gladly go to war, but I grieve for my poor wife.

If fools wore white fur caps, we'd all look a flock of sheep.

If God listened to every shepherd's curse, our sheep would all be dead.

If I must drown, better the open sea than the village puddle.

If only one evil woman lived on earth, every man would claim she was his wife.

If the father is a fisherman, the children know the water.

If the thunder is not loud the farmer forgets to cross himself.

If there is no apple, eat a carrot.

If we eat the seed now, we won't have to worry about the crop next year.

If you are offered gifts, take. If you are offered curses, run.

If you are tired of a friend, lend him money.

If you don't know how to be a good servant, you won't know how to be a good master.

If you eat cherries with lords, they will spit the stones at you.

If you fear the wolf, keep out of the forest.

If you feast the guest you must feed his dog.

If you find a good thing, do not rejoice. If you lose a good thing, do not despair.

If you go to war, pray; if you go to sea, pray twice; and pray three times if you go to wed.

If you have no devil in your house, take a son-in-law.

If you never see new things, you can go on enjoying the old.

If you offer to carry the basket, don't complain of the weight.

If you own a fur coat you will be plagued by lice.

If you spit at Heaven, you will dirty your own face.

If you want to be a priest, you must do funerals.

If you want to feast on honey, first kill the bees.

If you want to sell spoiled goods, seek a blind buyer.

If you're a rooster, crow. If you're a hen, shut up and lay eggs.

If youth but knew and age but could do.

If you've eaten it Tuesday, don't look for it Wednesday.

I'm selling at the same price I bought. Cf. Speak as you find.

In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

In the next world, money-lenders will count red-hot roubles with bare hands.

In this world not everyone with a long knife is a cook.

It fits – like a saddle on the cow.

It is a brave or foolish dog that joins a fight between friends.

It is best not to open your mouth wide at the sight of your neighbor's loaf.

It is easier to bear shame than endure smoke in the eyes.

It is easier to find happiness than to keep it.

It is easy to do what one's self wills.

It is hard to sail over the sea in an egg-shell.

It is pleasant to watch somebody else thresh corn.

It is too late to worry about your hair when you are about to lose your head.

It isn't the horse: it's the oats that pull the wagon.

It never troubles the wolf how many the sheep may be.

It takes all kinds of trees to make a forest. Cf. It takes all sorts to make a world.

It's a good village but it has a bad name.

It's a poor soldier that doesn't dream himself a general.

It's a sin to go to a wedding and come home sober.

It's a stupid mouse that knows only one hole.

It's never too late to do good.

It's no fun to travel alone, even if you're shipwrecked and drowned.

It's not how long but how well you live.

It's not your business to rock your neighbour's cradle.

It's too late to think of wine when the cask is empty.

Jealousy and Love are sisters.

Judge well yourself before you criticize.

Just as a tailor lacks trousers, a shoemaker lacks shoes.

Lay up for a rainy day. • Keep something for a dark day. • Lay up something for a dark day.

Lessons hard to learn are sweet to know.

Let's live and see.

Lie down with dogs and you'll get up with fleas.

Life is given by God, but it may be taken by a beast.

Life is unbearable, but death is not so pleasant either.

Like priest, like flock.

Likeness causes liking.

Live and scratch • when you're dead the itching will stop.

Lord Time never bows to you; you must always bow to him.

Love your neighbour but put up a fence.

Love your wife like your soul, and shake her like your pear-tree.

Make peace with men and make war with your sins.

Man does what he can; God does what he will.

Man is no mushroom - he doesn't grow in a day.

Marriage is like sneezing • even when you feel it coming you can't stop.

Marry a wife who can read, and she'll find all the holidays on the calendar.

Marry off your son when you will, your daughter when you can.

Measure your lunge to your flight.

Money loves accounts. I.e. Always keep exact accounts.

Moscow wasn't built in a day.

Mosquitoes sing over the living - priests over the dead.

My hands and feet are my tormentors – but my belly God preserve.

Naivety can do more harm than thievery.

Near is my coat but nearer is my shirt.

Neither a judge nor a stomach has to tell you in words what it wants.

Never do evil hoping that good will come of it.

Never trust the friendship of a joker.

Night brings counsel.

No apple is safe from worms.

No need to plant or cultivate fools: they grow everywhere.

No sin to ask, and no calamity to be refused.

Noblemen make promises, and peasants have to keep them.

Not all materializes that is hoped for.

Not all pines in the wood are fit for a ship.

Not all who make love also make marriages.

Not everyone who snores is sleeping.

Oatmeal (barley) (buck-wheat) porridge praises itself.

Old fools are worse than young fools.

Old hands don't easily untie the purse strings. Cf. The older the bird, the more unwillingly it parts with its feathers.

Old oxen have stiff horns.

On a dangerous road, wear your beard over your shoulder.

Once a word is out of your mouth you can't swallow it again.

Once in every gypsy's life he tells the truth; then at once he regrets it.

Once it's fallen off the cart, it's gone for good.

Once your daughter is married, fine young bachelors appear like magic.

One fisherman knows another from afar.

One fool praises another.

One good turn deserves another.

One old friend is better than two new ones.

One raven does not pick the eyes of another.

One sheep follows another.

One soldier does not make a whole regiment.

Only a fool will make his doctor his heir.

Only God guards fools.

Only tailors go without clothes and shoemakers without shoes.

Only the eagle may look into the sun.

Only when the wolves are fed will the lambs be safe.

Opportunity makes the thief.

Oppression comes not from the czar but from his favourites.

Outside the tavern it is freezing, but inside his money is melting away.

Paper will accept any writing.

Pardoning the bad [thief] is injuring the good.

Patience has its limits.

Pleasing ware is half sold.

Plug a hole while it is small.

Poor lamb: it has seven shepherds.

Poverty is no sin.

Poverty makes inventive.

Praise a fair day at night.

Pray to God, and don't offend the Devil.

Pray to God, but keep hammering (but hammer away).

Pray to God, but keep rowing to shore.

Presents are cheap, true love is dear.

Puff not against the wind.

Put a light load on a donkey, and it thinks it can lie down.

Refuse free wine: it will cost you less to buy it.

Russian wolves live by using their own legs.

Sava rustles the sheep and the wolves get the blame.

Send a fool to market and a fool he will return.

Servants in silk, masters in bankruptcy.

Seven never wait for one.

Shouting never built a house.

Siberia is terrible, but life there is better than life in Russia.

Small birds make little nests.

So long as I have moonlight, the stars can suit themselves.

Spending is quick and easy, earning is slow and hard.

Spit in his eye, and he will swear it's holy dew from Heaven.

Straddle two horses, and you'll fall in the mud.

Strength and glory are servants of the rich.

Stretch your legs according to your coverlet.

Strong as Samson was, even he could not lift a rouble from an empty purse.

Take the wool, but pray leave the hide.

Talk in market and you tell the world.

That one is hard on clothes – she is wearing out her third husband.

The bashful beggar oft goes away hungry.

The bear dances and the gypsy collects the kopecks.

The bear will pay for the sheep's tears.

The beaten dog needs only to see the stick.

The bird is known by its note, the man by his words.

The bird is small, but the beak is sharp.

The brave sing in prisons, the stupid sing in churches.

The cowl does not make the monk.

The Czar is generous, but his money filters down through many sieves.

The Czar isn't fire, but get too close and you'll be burnt to death.

The devil pours honey into other men's wives.

The egg should not try to teach the hen.

The face is the index of the mind.

The falling leaf whispers something to living men.

The fathers ate the cranberries and the children are left with the aftertaste.

The first wife comes from Heaven, the second from Earth, the third from Hell.

The first wife is matrimony, the second company, and the third heresy.

The fool errs alone whereas the wise man corrupts many.

The fool makes ropes out of sand.

The further in (the woods), the more logs.

The future is his who knows how to wait.

The goat is sated and the cabbage is intact.

The greatest czar is put to bed at last with the same shovel.

The cowl does not make the monk.

The hand that takes never tires of its work.

The hare's tracks may lead you the bear's den.

The hungry man can think only of food.

The hunter killed the horse and caught the hare.

The hunter killed the horse and caught the hare.

The husband's sin stays at the doorstep; the wife's enters the house.

The ikon and the shovel come from the same tree.

The kopek thief is hanged, while the thousand-rouble thief is honoured.

The law is like a sleigh: a clever judge can steer it either way.

The law is straight, but judges are crooked.

The little one is too small; the big one is too big; the medium one is just right – but I can't get it.

The load is light that rests on someone else's shoulders.

The mare was making friends with the wolf, but somehow or other she didn't come home.

The more you complain the longer God lets you live.

The mouth of the wolf and the eye of the priest: never satisfied.

The neighbour's little things always look big.

The night's too short to warrant marrying poor.

The old dog can't eat his bone, and won't let others near it.

The older daughter is married off by her parents, the younger daughter by her sister.

The paper is still while the pen is writing.

The peacock has fair feathers but foul feet.

The philosopher does not fear death. Cf. The whole life of a philosopher is a preparation for death.

The priest loves the rich man's funeral; the judge loves the rich man's lawsuit.

The rich get richer.

The rich would have to eat money, but luckily the poor provide food.

The road to Siberia is wide; the lane back is narrow.

The sandpiper is small, but a bird just the same.

The seller has one price, and the buyer quite another.

The slower you drive, the further you get.

The sober man's secret is the drunken man's speech.

The star-gazer's toe is often stubbed.

The strength of the rouble is in the kopeck.

The tambourines are fine over the hills.

The tears of strangers are only water.

The thief thinks that everyone else is a thief.

The thread breaks where it is weakest.

The uninvited guest is worse than a Tartar.

The unlucky cry, the lucky skip and jump.

The water is up to his neck, and he's asking for a drink.

The wolf is no comrade for the horse.

The wolf took pity on the lamb - he left it its bones and fleece.

The workman with clean tools is a bad worker.

The worst wheel groans the most.

There are more twistings to a woman than a path in the forest.

There are two fools in every market: one asks too little, one asks too much.

There is a cover for every pot.

There is no good answer to a stupid question.

There is no point in taking your samovar to Tula.

There's a limit to everything.

There's little choice in rotten apples.

There's no choice when there's nothing.

These fellows will have it soft in the next world: they'll be made devils at once.

They prayed so hard for good weather, God sent them drought.

Those who enjoy skiing downhill had better enjoy climbing uphill.

Those who live amongst wolves must learn to howl like wolves.

Though the horse can cross, the hen gets drowned.

Though you are turned away at the front door, try knocking at the back with a rouble.

Times change and (people change their ideas) (we) with them.

To eat well sit next the hostess; to drink well sit next the host.

To every cardsharp there are born seven fools.

To one man, two enemies together are a regiment.

To teach a fool is as easy as to cure a corpse.

To the mouse the cat is a lion.

Too late to catch your breath when its time to die.

Too much butter never spoiled the broth.

Toys for the young, pillows for the old.

Trust in God, but don't be remiss.

Truth keeps silence when money talks.

Two to one is odds.

Two women make a market, three a fair.

Use your [own] head.

Wag your tongue as much as you please, but don't wave your gun.

Walk fast and you can overtake misfortune; walk slowly and it will overtake you.

We are related: the same sun dries our rags.

We are shrewder at sunrise than at moonrise.

We do not study to learn wisdom but to pass examinations.

We don't live uphill, but downhill.

What goes in with mothers' milk goes out only with the soul.

What seven can do with a spoon, one can do with a plough.

What the adult says, the youngster hears.

When a soldier dies, he's too bad for Heaven; and he drinks so much the devils won't take him in Hell.

When an old crow croaks, listen well.

When dogs bark, wind carries the sound away.

When the abbot goes out to the tavern, the monks get drunk in the wine-cellar.

When the bachelor dies, not even a dog howls.

When the czar roars, the axe will fall.

When the Devil grows old, he turns monk.

When the Devil himself has failed, he sends a woman.

When the falcon's gone, the crow succeeds him.

When the fox sleeps, he dreams of chickens.

When the gentlemen fight, the peasants suffer.

When the governor takes up his pen, peasants pray and birds fall silent.

When the head is hollow, the shins will get hurt.

When the mouse is full, the bread tastes stale.

When the parish priest goes to the country for a visit, the devil comes to town.

When the priest visits, don't be so pleased: he has come for something.

When the sheath is broken, you cannot hide your sword.

When the thief prays to God, the Devil steals his prayers in flight.

When the wolf asked the goat to dinner, the goat declined with thanks.

When the wolf shows his teeth, he isn't laughing.

When two dogs fight, let the third keep his distance.

When we sing, everybody hears us; when we sigh, nobody hears us.

When you die even a tight box will be comfortable.

When you jump the ditch, you risk your neck.

When you pick a wife, close your eyes and open your ears.

When you saw wood, dust will fall.

When you sue the czar, ask God to play the judge.

When your own head aches, do not treat another's.

Where it is well with me, there is my country.

Where the needle goes, the thread follows. Cf. The appurtenance must follow the main part.

Where the wood is chopped, the chips will fly.

Where there are no fish, even a crawfish can pass as one.

Where there is love, even a hut will seem like heaven.

Where there's honey there will be flies.

Where there's no beginning there's no end.

Wherever God has a church, the Devil opens a chapel.

Who has not known the sea has not known sorrow.

Willingness is not work.

With a good wife and enough cabbage soup, don't look for more.

With God you may cross the sea; without him, do not cross the doorstep.

With some people even their roosters seem to lay eggs.

With the lucky man his enemy dies; with the unlucky man his best friend dies.

Wolves catch others, but then are caught themselves.

Working may be hard, but eating is pleasant.

You can escape a snake, but not a slander.

You can jump out of a saddle, but you're stuck fast to a wife.

You can measure your cloth twelve times, but cut it only once.

You can never fill a priest's belly.

You can trust him like you can trust ice in late spring.

You cannot break through a wall with only your forehead.

You cannot carry water in a sieve.

You cannot judge a book by its bark or a tree by its cover.*

You cannot make a soft bed for everyone. Cf. You can't please everybody.

You cannot serve one sparrow on twelve plates.

You cannot write in the chimney with charcoal.

You can't die twice, and you can't live but once.

You can't make a fur (cap) out of "thanks".

You can't make a fur from a hedgehog's hide.

You can't sew buttons on your neighbour's mouth.

You can't skin the same carcass twice.

You don't learn as much from buying as from selling.

You give nuts to the squirrel when its teeth are gone.

You lend money by hand and go after it by foot.

You may well laugh – you have good teeth.

You must get down from your neighbour's horse on demand, even in the mud.

You'll never catch an old wolf in an old trap.

You'll never get a hangover from other people's vodka.

Your tongue will get you to Kiev.