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Personal Qualities / Types of People
Below are Irish proverbs dealing with people of various types; their basic qualities, strengths, and weaknesses. These wise sayings, developed in an oral tradition over hundreds of years, point out the good and bad attributes of the common person. They are a cultural expression of Celtic esthetics, ethics, and morals.
Is é an duine an t-éadach.
The man (person) is the clothes.
Is minic cuma aingeal ar an Diabhal féin.
There is often the look of an angel on the Devil himself.
Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile.
A beetle recognizes another beetle.
Is glas iad na cnoc i bhfad uainn.
Distant hills look green.
Cuir síoda ar ghabhar agus is gabhar i gcónaí é.
Put silk on a goat and it is still a goat.
Bíonn gach duine go lách
go dtéann bó ina gharraí.
Everybody is good natured
until a cow goes into his garden.
Ní fearr bia ná ciall.
Food is not better than sense.
Nuair a bhíonn an fíon istigh,
bíonn an ciall amuigh.
When the wine is in(side), the sense is out(side).
Ní thagann ciall roimh aois.
Sense does not come before age.
Is déirce dá chuid féin don amadán.
His own share is charity to the fool.
Is deacair a bheith ag feadaíl agus ag ithe mine.
It is hard to whistle and eat at the same time.
Más cam nó díreach an ród,
's é an bothar mór an t-aicearra.
Whether the road is crooked or straight,
the short cut is the best way.
Is trom an rud cearc i bhfad.
A hen [carried] far is a heavy thing.
Ní hiad na fir mhóra
a bhaineas an fomhar i gcónaí.
It is not the great men
that always reap the harvest.
Mol an lá um thránóna.
Praise the day in the evening.
Seachnaíonn súil ní nach bhfeiceann.
An eye evades a thing it does not see.
Is doimhin é poll an amhrais.
Deep is the hole of doubt.
Is fearr rith maith ná droch-sheasamh.
A good run(ning) is better than a bad stand(ing).
Is teann gach madra gearr i ndoras a thí féin.
Every terrier is bold in the door of its house.
Glaonn gach coileach go dána ar a atrainn fhéin.
Every cock crows boldly in his own farmyard.
Is fearr filleadh as lár an áthe
ná bá sa tuile.
It is better to back out of the middle of the ford
than to be drowned in the flood.
Bíonn caora dhubh ar an tréad is gile.
There tends to be a black sheep (even) in the whitest flock.
Ní bhíonn saoi gan locht.
There is no wise man without fault.
Aithnítear cara i gcruatán.
A friend is known in hardship.
Ní thuigeann an sách an seang.
The well-fed (person) does not understand
the slender (person).
Níor chuaigh fial riamh go hIfreann.
No generous person ever went to hell.
Ní bhíonn beag bog.
Little (things) tend not to be soft.
Bíonn blás ar an mbeagán.
Little things tend to be tasty.
Ní dhéanfadh an domhan capall rása d'asal.
The world would not make a race horse
out of an ass (donkey).
Trí
ní is deacair a thuiscint;
intleacht na mban, obair na mbeach,
teacht agus imeacht na taoide.
Three things hardest to understand;
the intellect of women, the work of the bees,
the coming and going of the tide.
Na ceithre rud is measa amú;
ceann tinn, béal seirbh,
intinn bhuartha, agus poca folamh.
The four least useful things;
a headache, a bitter mouth,
a worried mind, and an empty pocket.
Dá fhada an lá tagann an tráthnóna.
However long the day, the evening will come.
Is iomaí fear fada a bhíonns lag ina lár.
Many a tall man has a weak middle.
Trí saghas incheann:
inchinn reatha,
inchinn cloiche,
inchinn chéarach.
Three kinds of brains:
a running brain,
a rock brain,
a wax brain.
Is fearr greim de choinín ná dhá ghreim de chat.
On bite of a rabbit is better than two bites of a cat.
Filleann an feall ar an bhfeallaire.
The treachery returns to the betrayer.
Is í an dias is troime is ísle a chromas a cheann.
The heaviest ear of grain bends its head the lowest.
Is minic a chealg briathra míne cailín críonna.
Many a prudent girl was led astray with honeyed words.
Is minic a bhíonn ciúin ciontach.
The quiet one is often guilty.
Is minic a bhris beál duine a shrón.
It is often that a person's mouth broke his nose.
Is minic a ghearr teanga duine a scornach.
It is often that a person's tongue cut
his throat.
Ní chaitheann an chaint an t-éadach.
(The) talk doesn't wear the clothes.
Ní scéal rúin é ó tá a fhios ag triúr é.
It is not a secret after three people know it.
Inis do Mháire i gcógar é,
is inseoidh Máire dó phóbal é.
Tell it to Mary in a whisper,
and Mary will tell it to the parish.
An áit a mbíonn mná bíonn caint
agus an áit a mbíonn géanna bíonn callán.
Where there are women there is talk,
and where there are geese there is cackling.
Ná bíodh do theanga faoi do chrios.
Don't keep your tongue under your belt.
Beagán a rá agus é a rá go maith.
Say little but say it well.
An té is mó a osclaíonn a bhéal
is é is lú a osclaíonn a sparán.
The one who opens his mouth the most,
'tis he who opens his purse the least.
Is minic a bhíonn ciúin ciontach.
The quiet one is often guilty.
Mórán cainte ar bheagán cúise.
Much talk with little reason.
Is binn béal ina thost.
A silent mouth is sweet.
Bíonn an fhírinne searbh.
The truth is bitter.
Ní fiú scéal gan údar.
There's no worth to a story without an author.
Ní féidir an seanfhocal a shárú.
A proverb can not be refuted.
Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí.
Praise a youth and she will come.
Is cum leis an óige cá leagann sí a cos.
Youth does not care where it sets its foot.
Is minic a rinne bromach gioblach
capall cumasach.
A ragged colt often made a powerful horse.
Téann an saol thart mar bheadh eiteoga air
agus cuireann gach aon Nollaig
bliain eile ar do ghualainn.
Life goes by as if it had wings,
and every Christmas puts
another year on your shoulder.
Fiche bliain ag teacht,
Fiche bliain go maith,
Fiche bliain ag meath, is
Fiche bliain gan rath.
Twenty years coming,
Twenty years good,
Twenty years declining, and
Twenty years useless.
Luigh leis an uan, agus éirigh leis an éan.
Lie with the lamb, and rise with the bird.
Molann an obair an fear.
The work praises the man.
Ní chaitheann an chaint an t-éadach.
(The) talk doesn't wear the clothes.
Imíonn an tuirse ach fanann an tairbhe.
The tiredness leaves but the profit remains.
Ní sheasaíonn sac folamh.
An empty sack does not stand.
Gheibheann pingin pingin eile.
A penny gets another penny.
Gheibheann cos ar siúl rud éigin.
A moving leg gets something.
An té nach gcuireann san earrach
ní bhaineann sé san fhómhar.
Whoever does not plant in the spring
does not reap in the fall.
Éist le fuaim na habhann
agus gheobhfaidh tú breac.
Listen to the sound of the river
and you will get a trout.
An rud a théann i bhfad,
téann sé i bhfuaire.
What drags on grows cold.
Click on any proverb above to get a new window with the note on interpretation that first appeared on the Seanfhocal na Seachtaine page. This window will also include a phonetic spelling using a subset of the International Phonetic Alphabet adopted by many Irish linguistic scholars. (Each sound is spoken in a separate phonetic key by a native Irish speaker.) In addition, the new window gives access to a sound file (wav) of a native speaker saying the proverb. Phonetic spelling is given in the standard (caighdeán) Irish dialect, although the speaker's voice on the sound files may have a slight regional accent.
Proverbs are also categorized as follows:
All past proverbs are also listed sequentially on Proverbs in Order Posted.
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