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Personal Qualities / Types of People
Appearances / Image
- Bíonn gach duine go lách go dtéann bó ina gharraí.
Everybody is good natured until a cow goes into his garden.
- Cuir síoda ar ghabhar agus is gabhar i gcónaí é.
Put silk on a goat and it is still a goat.
- Is glas iad na cnoc i bhfad uainn.
Distant hills look green.
- Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile.
A beetle recognizes another beetle.
- Is minic cuma aingeal ar an Diabhal féin.
There is often the look of an angel on the Devil himself.
- Is é an duine an t-éadach.
The man (person) is the clothes.
Common Sense
- Is doimhin é poll an amhrais.
Deep is the hole of doubt.
- Seachnaíonn súil ní nach bhfeiceann.
An eye evades a thing it does not see.
- Mol an lá um thránóna.
Praise the day in the evening.
- Ní hiad na fir mhóra a bhaineas an fomhar i gcónaí.
It is not the great men that always reap the harvest.
- Is trom an rud cearc i bhfad.
A hen [carried] far is a heavy thing.
- Más cam nó díreach an ród, ‘s é an bothar mór an t-aicearra.
Whether the road is crooked or straight, the main road is the short cut.
(Aternatively: The longest way round is the shortest way home.)
- Is deacair a bheith ag feadaíl agus ag ithe mine.
It is hard to whistle and eat at the same time.
- Is déirce dá chuid féin don amadán.
His own share is charity to the fool.
- Ní thagann ciall roimh aois.
Sense does not come before age.
- Nuair a bhíonn an fíon istigh, bíonn an ciall amuigh.
When the wine is in(side), the sense is out(side).
- Ní fearr bia ná ciall.
Food is not better than sense.
Courage
- 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.
- Glaonn gach coileach go dána ar a atrainn fhéin.
Every cock crows boldly in his own farmyard.
- Is teann gach madra gearr i ndoras a thí féin.
Every terrier is bold in the door of its house.
- Is fearr rith maith ná droch-sheasamh.
A good run(ning) is better than a bad stand(ing).
Faults
- Ní bhíonn saoi gan locht.
There is no wise man without fault.
- Bíonn caora dhubh ar an tréad is gile.
There tends to be a black sheep (even) in the whitest flock.
Generosity / Stinginess
- Níor chuaigh fial riamh go hIfreann.
No generous person ever went to hell.
- Ní thuigeann an sách an seang.
The well-fed (person) does not understand the slender (person).
- Aithnítear cara i gcruatán.
A friend is known in hardship.
Industriousness / Laziness
- An rud a théann i bhfad, téann sé i bhfuaire.
What drags on grows cold.
- Éist le fuaim na habhann agus gheobhfaidh tú breac.
Listen to the sound of the river and you will get a trout.
- An té nach gcuireann san earrach ní bhaineann sé san fhómhar.
Whoever does not plant in the spring does not reap in the fall.
- Gheibheann cos ar siúl rud éigin.
A moving leg gets something.
- Gheibheann pingin pingin eile.
A penny gets another penny.
- Ní sheasaíonn sac folamh.
An empty sack does not stand.
- Imíonn an tuirse ach fanann an tairbhe.
The tiredness leaves but the profit remains.
- Ní chaitheann an chaint an t-éadach.
(The) talk doesn't wear the clothes.
- Molann an obair an fear.
The work praises the man.
- Luigh leis an uan, agus éirigh leis an éan.
Lie with the lamb, and rise with the bird.
Inherent Qualities
- Is fearr greim de choinín ná dhá ghreim de chat.
On bite of a rabbit is better than two bites of a cat.
- Trí saghas incheann: inchinn reatha, inchinn cloiche, inchinn chéarach.
Three kinds of brains:
a running brain,
a rock brain,
a wax brain. - Is iomaí fear fada a bhíonns lag ina lár.
Many a tall man has a weak middle.
- Dá fhada an lá tagann an tráthnóna.
However long the day, the evening will come.
- 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. - 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. - Ní dhéanfadh an domhan capall rása d’asal.
The world would not make a race horse out of an ass (donkey).
- Bíonn blás ar an mbeagán.
Little things tend to be tasty.
- Ní bhíonn beag bog.
Little (things) tend not to be soft.
Nobility / Treachery
- Is minic a bhíonn ciúin ciontach.
The quiet one is often guilty.
- Is minic a chealg briathra míne cailín críonna.
Many a prudent girl was led astray with honeyed words.
- Is í an dias is troime is ísle a chromas a cheann.
The heaviest ear of grain bends its head the lowest.
- Filleann an feall ar an bhfeallaire.
The treachery returns to the betrayer.
Quiet / Talkative
- Is binn béal ina thost.
A silent mouth is sweet.
- Mórán cainte ar bheagán cúise.
Much talk with little reason.
- Is minic a bhíonn ciúin ciontach.
The quiet one is often guilty.
- 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.
- Beagán a rá agus é a rá go maith.
Say little but say it well.
- Ná bíodh do theanga faoi do chrios.
Don't keep your tongue under your belt.
- 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.
- 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.
- Ní scéal rúin é ó tá a fhios ag triúr é.
It is not a secret after three people know it.
- Ní chaitheann an chaint an t-éadach.
(The) talk doesn't wear the clothes.
- Is minic a ghearr teanga duine a scornach.
It is often that a person's tongue cut his throat.
- Is minic a bhris beál duine a shrón.
It is often that a person's mouth broke his nose.
Truth / Falsehood
- Ní féidir an seanfhocal a shárú.
A proverb can not be refuted.
- Ní fiú scéal gan údar.
There's no worth to a story without an author.
- Bíonn an fhírinne searbh.
The truth is bitter.
Young / Old
- 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. - Téann an saol thart mar bheadh eiteoga air agus cuireann gach aon Nollaig bliain eile ar do ghualai
Life goes by as if it had wings,
and every Christmas puts
another year on your shoulder. - Is minic a rinne bromach gioblach capall cumasach.
A ragged colt often made a powerful horse.
- Is cum leis an óige cá leagann sí a cos.
Youth does not care where it sets its foot.
- Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí.
Praise a youth and she will come.