Proverb Examples from around the world

Proverbs Starting with letter I - part 2
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If a blind man says, 'Let's throw stones,' be assured that he has stepped on one.
If a cat is the judge the rat can't win its case.
If a cat wants to eat her kittens, she'll say that they look like mice.

If a centipede loses a leg, it can still walk.
If a centipede loses a leg, it does not prevent him from walking.
If a child cries for a razor blade, give it to him.
If a child washes his hands he could eat with kings.
If a dead tree falls, it carries with it a live one.
If a dog bites you and you don't bite him back, it will say that you have no teeth.
If a dog offers to help you across the river, don't ask if he is suffering from the mange.
If a dog's prayers were answered, bones would rain from the skies.
If a flame has caught the firs, what will the moss on the wall say?.
If a flea had money, it would buy its own dog.
If a fool borrows a book cut off his hand; but cut off both hands of the fool who brings it back.
If a forest catches fire, both the dry and the wet will burn.
If a forest catches fire, both the dry and the wet will burn up.
If a friend hurts you, run to your wife.
If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well.
If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well.
If a link is broken, the entire chain breaks.
If a link is broken, the whole chain breaks.
If a man be great, even his dog will wear a proud look.
If a man becomes powerful even his chicken and his dog go to heaven.
If a man believes in a stone, that stone will serve him well.
If a man deceives me once, shame on him; if he deceives me twice, shame on me.
If a man fools me once, shame on him. If he fools me twice, shame on me.
If a man from humble beginnings gets rich, he will carry his umbrella at midnight.
If a man has folly in his sleeve, it will be sure to peep out.
If a man is destined to drown, he will drown even in a spoonful of water.
If a man leaves little children behind him, it is as if he did not die.
If a man makes soup of his tears, ask him not for broth.
If a man once fall, all will tread on him.
If a man would know what he is, let him anger his neighbours.
If a man would learn to pray let him go often to sea.
If a man would live in peace he should be blind, deaf, and dumb.
If a man would live in peace, he should be blind, deaf, and dumb.
If a man's heart be impure, all things will appear hostile to him.
If a man's mouth were silent, then another part would speak.
If a monkey is amongst dogs, why won't it start barking.
If a pedestrian sees a horse he will want to ride it.

If a person is away, his right is away.
If a person shave you with a razor, do not shave him with broken glass.
If a poor man finds a penny, it is probably a false one.
If a poor man gives to you, he expects more in return.
If a rat wants to die it bites a cat's tail.
If a rich man ate a snake, they would say it was because of his wisdom; if a poor man ate it, they would say it was because of his stupidity.
If a rich man dies, all the world is moved; if a poor man dies, nobody knows it.
If a rich man eats a snake people say, 'This is wisdom!' If a poor man eats a snake people say, 'This is folly!'.
If a rich man steals it is a mistake; if a poor man makes a mistake he has stolen.
If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked. Proverbs 29:12.
If a son is uneducated, his father is to blame.
If a stone falls on an egg, it is bad for the egg; if an egg falls onto a stone, it is still bad for the egg.
If a string has one end, then it has another end.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing badly.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well.
If a toad jumps around in the daytime, it is either chasing something or something is chasing it.
If a wife is unfaithful then the husband is partly to blame.
If a woman doesn't know what she has to answer then the sea is dry.
If a woman gets rich she changes into a man.
If a woman hears that something unusual is going on in heaven, she would find a ladder to go and look.
If a woman sees a stick for beating her rival, she will throw it away in the woods.
If a word be worth one shekel, silence is worth two.
If a young woman says no to marriage just wait until her breasts sag.
If advice will not improve him, neither will the rod.
If age and experience came at birth, We would have neither youth nor mirth.
If all else fails, sleep with your mother.
If all else fails, try the obvious.
If all men were just, there would be no need of valour.
If all of us take hold of it together, it won't feel heavy.
If all pulled in one direction, the world would keel over.
If all seeds that fall were to grow, then no one could follow the path under the trees.
If all the bees made honey, there would be enough for even gypsies to eat.
If an mule goes a-traveling, he'll not come home a horse.
If an mule goes traveling it will not come home a horse.
If an eel is with fish, he shows his tail; if he is with snakes, he shows his head.
If an enemy is annoying you by playing well, consider adopting his strategy.
If an ox doesn't know the size of his arse he won't eat an apricot stone.
If and if my mule is pointy and full of marmalade.
If and when mushrooms(beans) grew in the mouth(, that would have been not mouth but kitchen garden).
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.
If bad luck is asleep you must not awaken it.
If begging should unfortunately be thy lot, knock at the large gates only.
If begging should unfortunately be your lot, knock at the large gates only.
If better were within, better would come out.
If charity cost nothing and benevolence caused no heartache, the world would be full of philanthropists.
If chickens were judges, roosterroaches would be sentenced.
If children's prayers were answered, there wouldn't be a single teacher alive.
If cooks quarrel, the roast burns.

If crocodiles eat their own eggs what would they do to the flesh of a frog.
If customs are not customary, custom will mourn.
If death be terrible, the fault is not in death, but thee.
If envy were a fever, all the world would be ill.
If envy would burn, there would be no need for wood.
If envy would burn, there would be no use for wood.
If ever you should need my life, come and take it.
If every day was a sunny day, who would not wish for rain?.
If every fool wore a crown, we should all be kings.
If every one were wise, a fool would be the prize.
If everyone gives one thread, the poor man will have a shirt.
If everyone is going to dance, who, then, would watch?.
If everyone swept in front of his house, the whole town would be clean.
If everyone thought alike, no goods would ever be sold.
If everyone were a gentleman, who would make the mills work?.
If everything that came from your tongue were to come into your hands, then every beggar would be a pasha.
If flesh is not to be had, fish must content us.
If folly were a pain, there would be groaning in every house.
If fools ate no bread, corn would be cheap.
If fools went not to market, bad wares would not be sold.
If fools were to eat no bread, corn would be cheap.
If fortune turns against you, even jelly breaks your tooth.
If he fell onto his back, he'd break his nose. (when the person is very unlucky).
If he fell onto his back,he'd break his nose. (when the person is very clumsy).
If he gives you a rope, tie him with it.
If he hadn't seen his father, he would have claimed kingship.
If he keeps on imitating everybody the monkey will one day cut his own throat.
If he says yogurt is white, I'll say it's black.
If he should ask for wine, box his ears.
If he waits long enough the world will be his own.
If he were a do-gooder, they'd call him 'Saint Do-Gooder.
If he won't carry the sack, give him a whack.
If heaven above lets fall a plum, open your mouth.
If heaven drops a date, open your mouth.
If heaven made him, earth can find some use for him.
If her works for you, you work for him.
If his legs fail him, he fights on his knees.
If his/her mule wasn't attached, s/he would give that away too.
If horses neigh to one another, they become acquainted, if people talk to one another, they become acquainted.
If ifs and ans were pots and pans, there'd be no trade for tinkers.
If ill luck were cheese, dairy-women would go wanting work.
If in doubt go left.
If in doubt, pick 'C.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
If it can lick, it can bite.
If it can't be cured, it must be endured.
If it does not kill you, it will bring you happiness.
If it does not stink, it is not a foot.
If it doesn't burn you, you haven't tasted it (hot pepper).

If it doesn't have water for me, it sure has bread for you.
If it hurts to spend your money, you will go hungry.
If it is good then the deed is more important than the intention; if it's bad then the intention is worse than the deed.
If it is not stolen, it is a legacy.
If it is to be luck, the bull may as well calve as the cow.
If it is worth taking, it is worth asking for.
If it isn't seen, there's no guilt. (If you do something without being caught it isn't done.).
If it must always be better, it can never be good enough.
If it only depends on swearing, the cow is ours.
If it pleases you, it does not displease me.
If it rained macaroni, what a fine time for gluttons!.
If it rained maccaroni, what a fine time for gluttons!.
If it rains on the pastor it drops on the vicar.
If it were God's will, you could shoot with a broom too.
If it were ever to rain soup, the poor would only have forks.
If it were not for hope, the heart would break.
If it were not for the belly, the back might wear gold.
If it were not for the hands, the clock would be useless.
If it weren't for sorrow and bad times, every day would be Christmas.
If it's God's will the broom will lose its handle.
If it's a big man that is hurting you, smile at him.
If it's just a matter of someone dying, then let my father die, as he's older.
If it's not here and now, who cares about what and when?.
If it's not one thing it's another.
If it's not one thing, it's another.
If it's not true, it's a good story.
If it's not your time, you won't be born and you won't die.
If it's too good to be true, then it probably is.
If it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing.
If lies are to find credence, they must be patched with truth.
If lies were Latin, there would be many learned men.
If life gives you a lemon, make a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caipirinha caipirinha out of it.
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
If life is fulfilled we go away with empty hands.
If love be timid it is not true.
If love is a sickness, patience is the remedy.
If love is torn apart you cannot stitch the pieces together again.
If lying were a capital crime, the hangman would work overtime.
If man be a river, then woman will be a bridge.
If marriage were a good thing, it wouldn't need witnesses.
If men could foresee the future, they would still behave as they do now.
If men could see the epitaphs their friends write they would believe they had gotten into the wrong grave.
If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master.
If my aunt were bearded, she would be my uncle.
If my belly is of glass, I will fill it with bread and chicken; if it is a closed cellar, I will fill it with roosterroaches.
If my shirt knew my design, I'd burn it.
If neither animal nor vegetable you be, then mineral you are.
If neither animal nor vegetable you be, then mineral you are. If one finger brought oil it soiled others.
If no one comes the dog does not bark.

If not by washing, then by rolling.
If not for your tongue, the crows would have gouged out your eyes.
If not today -- when?.
If nothing touches the palm-leaves they do not rustle. (Compare English "Where there's smoke there's fire.").
If old age was the same as wisdom, any old donkey would be a celebrated Justice.
If one cooks the meal then the others wash up.
If one finger brought oil it soiled others.
If one goes to bed with small kids, wakes up wet.
If one hand were the other they would both want to be clean.
If one has to jump a stream and knows how wide it is, he will not jump. If he does not know how wide it is, he will jump, and six times out of ten he will make it.
If one is not fitted for a certain role, he/she should not try to assume it.
If one is not in a hurry, even an egg will start walking.
If one is told about an event beforehand, they can (adequately) prepare.
If one link has broken so has the whole chain.
If one man praises you, a thousand will repeat the praise.
If one soldier knew what the other thinks, there would be no war.
If one sows pumpkins with the devil, they will bash onto one's head. (Similar to 'As you sow, so you shall reap.').
If one won't another will.
If one word does not succeed, ten thousand are of no avail.
If one, two and three say you are an ass, put on the ears.
If one, two, three say you are an ass, put on a tail.
If only I were a bird! Ah, but eating caterpillars?.
If only I were a bird! Ah, but eating caterpillars? If someone betrays you once, it's his fault. If he betrays you twice, it's your fault.
If only one race has to be chosen, why the Jews?.
If only the youth would know, if the old age would be able to.
If others are allowed to, that does not mean you are.
If peace reigns in the land, a nun can govern it.
If people lead, the leaders will follow.
If poor, act with caution.
If power can be bought then sell your mother to get it.
If power is for sale, sell your mother to buy it. You can always buy her back again.
If praying had helped, he could have hired someone to do it.
If pride were a disease, how many would be already dead?.
If pride were an art, how many doctors we should have.
If rain bothers you, you can always jump into the sea.
If regret was a horn, the fellow's horn would reach the sky.
If relatives help each other, what evil can hurt them?.
If relatives help each other, what harm can be done to them?.
If rubles fell from heaven the poor would have no bag.
If someone hits you with a stone, hit him with bread; your bread will return to you and his stone will return to him.
If someone is coming to kill you, get up early and kill him first.
If someone puts their trust in you, don't sever it.
If someone says 'There is a wedding ceremony in the clouds,' then the women would soon arrive with their ladders.
If someone sweats for you, you change his shirt.
If someone throws stones at you, throw back bread.
If something can go wrong, it will.
If something happens to the master the servants will get his share too.
If something that was going to chop off your head only knocked off your cap, you should be grateful.
If sorrow would not talk it would die.
If speech is silver, silence is gold.
If strokes are good to give, they are good to receive.
If summer had a mother, she would weep at summer's passing.
If sweetness be excessive, it is no longer sweetness.
If tar, liquor and sauna will not be of help the disease is fatal.
If the Devil were dead, folk would do little for God's sake.
If the Lur doesn't go to the bazaar, everything will rot.
If the Sultan demands five eggs, let his soldiers roast a thousand chickens.
If the bald man knew a remedy he would rub it on his own head.
If the bathroom and a brandy cannot help a man, then death is imminent.
If the beard meant everything, the goat would preach.
If the beard were all, goats could preach.

If the beard were all, the goat might preach.
If the bird hadn't sung, it wouldn't have been shot.

These are Proverb Examples from around the world, some have been translated from their original language to english.


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