411 REFERENCE · Wikiquote
Croatian proverbs
Reference material by Wikiquote contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Proverbs from all Croatian speaking parts of the world.
' and translate to franch
B
Bez muke nema nauke. English equivalent: No pain, no gain; Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"Nothing can be achieved without effort, suffering or hardship."
Martin H. Manser The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs http://books.google.com/books?id=fgaUQc8NbTYC&pg=PA205 2007 Infobase Publishing 978-0-8160-6673-5 205
Branko Ostojić Englesko-srpskohrvatski I srpskohrvatsko-engleski rječnik http://books.google.com/books?id=t33lAAAAMAAJ 22 May 2013 1991 "Svjetlost" 68
Bog govori: pomozi si sam, pomoći ću ti. English equivalent: Heaven helps those who help themselves.
"When in trouble first of all every one himself should do his best to improve his condition."
Paczolay Gyula European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese http://books.google.com/books?id=JiXzAAAAMAAJ 1997 Veszprémi Nyomda 1-875943-44-7 150 X
Source: Strauss Emmanuel 1994 Dictionary of European Proverbs, Volym 1 Routledge 732 0415096243
Bog zatvori jedna vrata, a otvori stotinu. English equivalent: God closes one door, but opens a hundred.
"When baffled in one direction a man of energy will not despair, but will find another way to his object."
Proverbs of All Nations http://books.google.com/books?id=PdxtAAAAMAAJ 1859 W. Kent & Company (late D. Bogue) 67
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 874 2200 0415096243
Bolje spriječiti nego liječiti. English equivalent: Better safe than sorry.
English equivalent: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Zagrebu. Centar za etnološku kartografiju, Zagrebu. Etnološki zavod 1991 Studia ethnologica Centar 153
Bolje vrabac u ruci, nego golub na grani. English equivalent: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
"Something you have for certain now is of more value than something better you may get, especially if you risk losing what you have in order to get it."
Martin H. Manser The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs http://books.google.com/books?id=fgaUQc8NbTYC 29 July 2013 2007 Infobase Publishing 978-0-8160-6673-5 28
András Dugonics Magyar példa beszédek és jeles mondások http://books.google.com/books?id=LbE_AAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA23 29 July 2013 1820 Grünn Orbán 23
Gerzić 2002 English-serbian dictionary of phrases and idioms Istar 29
Brada kaza jarca, ne pako mudroznanca. English equivalent: If the beard were all, the goat might preach.
Strauss Emanuel Abbreviated 1998 Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 117 504 0415160502
C
Čega nema, ne može se ni uzeti. English equivalent: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Strauss Emanuel Abbreviated 1998 Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 238 504 0415160502
Čovjek snuje, Bog određuje. English equivalent: Man proposes, but God disposes.
English equivalent: Man plans, God laughs.
Benson 1993 Englesko-srpskohrvatski rečnik Prosveta 197
Čuvaj se mačaka koje sprijeda ližu, a straga udaraju. English equivalent: Cats hide their claws.
"Sweet is revenge — especially to women."
Lord Byron, Don Juan (1818-24), Canto I, Stanza 124
Strauss Emanuel Abbreviated 1998 Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 638 504 0415160502
D
Djeca, budale i pijani pravdu govore. English equivalent: Children, fools and drunken men tell the truth.
"Children and fools have no inhibition, and alcohol consumed removes the inhibition against telling the truth that occasionally one would like to keep secret."
Paczolay Gyula European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese http://books.google.com/books?id=JiXzAAAAMAAJ 1997 Veszprémi Nyomda 1-875943-44-7 272 X
Dobar glas se daleko čuje, loš još dalje. English equivalent: Ingratitude is the world's reward.
Source: Strauss Emmanuel 1998 Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 55 0415160502
G
Gdje ima dima ima i vatre. English equivalent: Where there's smoke, there's fire.
"There is no effect without some cause. or It is supposed that if there is a rumour, there must be some truth behind it."
Paczolay Gyula European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese http://books.google.com/books?id=JiXzAAAAMAAJ 1997 Veszprémi Nyomda 1-875943-44-7 33 1
Strauss 1994 Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 663
Gde je mnogo rechi, malo hasne. Strauss Emanuel Abbreviated 1998 Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 92 504 0415160502
I
I brojene ovce vuk jede, kamo li nebrojene. English equivalent: Cats eat what hussies spare.
"What a person tries to keep back through meanness is just as likely to be wasted anyway."
Pickering David Cassell Dictionary of Proverbs http://books.google.com/books?id=sEG8HAAACAAJ 1997 Continuum International Publishing Group, Limited 978-0-304-35020-9 X X
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 641 2200 0415096243
J
Jabuka ne pada daleko od stabla. English equivalent: The apple does not fall far from the tree.
"Children observe daily and — in their behaviour — often follow the example of their parents."
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 488 2200 0415096243
Source for meaning: Paczolay Gyula 1997 European Proverbs in 55 languages DeProverbio.com 259 527 1-875943-44-7
Jaje hoće biti pametnije od kokoši.'
Strauss Emanuel Abbreviated 1998 Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 207 504 0415160502
Jeda sam lutjak, deset drugi napravi.
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 1132 2200 0415096243
Jedna lasta ne čini proljeće.
English equivalent: One swallow does not make a summer.
"All the falfe as well as fooliih Conclufions, Afrom a particular to an univerfal Truth, fall under the Cenfure of this Proverb. It teaches, that as he that guefies at the Courfe of the Year by the Flight of one fingle Bird, is very liable to be mifiaken in his Conjeéture; fo alfo a Man cannot be denominated Rich from one fingle Piece of Money in his Pocket, nor accounted univerfally good from the Practice of one fingle Virtue, nor temperate: becaufe he is flout, nor liberal becaufe he is exactly juft: that one Day cannot render a Man completely happy in point of Time, nor one Action confummate his Glory in Point of Valour. In fhort, the Moral of it is, That the right way of Judging of Things, beyond Impofition and Fallacy, is not from Particulars, but Univerfals."
Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721
društvo 2006 Umjetnost riječi: časopis za nauku o knjiz̆evnosti Mladost
K
Kakva majka, takva kći.
English equivalent: Like mother, like daughter.
"Daughters may look and behave like their mothers. This is due to inheritance and the example observed closely and daily"
Paczolay Gyula 1997 European Proverbs in 55 languages DeProverbio.com 179 527 1-875943-44-7
Kak dobljeno, tak zgubljeno.
English equivalent: Easy come, easy go.
"Things that are easily acquired, especially money, are just as easily lost or spent."
Martin H. Manser The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs http://books.google.com/books?id=fgaUQc8NbTYC&pg=PA71 7 September 2013 2007 Infobase Publishing 978-0-8160-6673-5 71
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 762 2200 0415096243
Kakvo pitanje takav odgovor.
English equivalent: Just as one calls into the forest, so it echoes back.
English equivalent: What you give is what you get.
Strauss Emmanuel 1998 Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 139 0415160502
Koji se kamen premeće, neće se mahovinom obrasti.
English equivalent: A rolling stone gathers no moss.
"The unsettled person does not prosper."
Paczolay Gyula European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese http://books.google.com/books?id=JiXzAAAAMAAJ 1997 Veszprémi Nyomda 1-875943-44-7 100 14
Kratka sprava je bolši kakor dolga pravda.
English equivalent: A bad compromise is better than a good lawsuit.
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 68 2200 0415096243
Krava plaća gospodarevu zabavu.
English equivalent: It's by the head that the cow gives the milk.
"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes."
Said by the Twitter handle "Notorious d.e.b" (@debihope) in 2010, later misattributed to Sigmund Freud and William Gibson.
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 1039 2200 0415096243
L
Loš je miš koji ima samo jednu rupu.
English equivalent: It is a poor mouse that has only one hole.
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 375 2200 0415096243
M
Med ima u ustima, a čemer u srcu.
English equivalent: A honey tongue and a heart of gall.
Strauss Emanuel Abbreviated 1998 Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 108 504 0415160502
Mi o vuku, a vuk na vrata.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear
Bujas 2001 Croatian-English dictionary Nakladni zavod Globus 1606 953167082X
N
Na muci se poznaju junaci.
Translation: In trouble you know a hero.
"For the most effective means of upholding the law is not the State policeman or the marshals or the National Guard. It is you. It lies in your courage to accept those laws with which you disagree as well as those with which you agree."
John F. Kennedy, Radio and Television Report to the Nation on the Situation at the University of Mississippi (30 September 1962).
Tvrtko Čubelić Narodne poslovice i zagonetke https://books.google.com/books?id=qLQ-AAAAIAAJ 1957 Školska knjiga 47
Na oganj ulja ne lijevaj.
English equivalent: Don't add fuel to the fire.
"One should not make a bad situation even worse by an improper remark."
Paczolay Gyula 1997 European Proverbs in 55 languages DeProverbio.com 338 527 1-875943-44-7
Ne trči pred rudo.
English equivalent: Don't jump the gun.
Matković, 1985 Forum 16
Nesreća brzo dođe, a polako ode.
English equivalent: Misfortune comes on horseback and goes away on foot.
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 65 2200 0415096243
Nesreća nikad ne dolazi sama.
English equivalent: When it rains, it pours.
English equivalent: Bad luck comes in threes.
German equivalent: Bad luck rarely comes alone. (Ein Unglück kommt selten allein.)
Source: Strauss Emmanuel 1998 Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 110 0415160502
Nije zlato sve što sja.
English equivalent: All that glistens is not gold.
Source: Strauss Emmanuel 1998 Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 77 0415160502
Nova metla dobra mete.
English equivalent: New brooms sweep clean.
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 1103 2200 0415096243
O
Orah ima tvrdu ljusku.
English equivalent: No pain, no gain.
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 680 2200 0415096243
P
Pas koji laje, ne grize.
English equivalent: Barking dogs seldom bite.
"People who make the most or the loudest threats are the least likely to take action."
Martin H. Manser The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs http://books.google.com/books?id=fgaUQc8NbTYC&pg=PA14 20 June 2013 2007 Infobase Publishing 978-0-8160-6673-5 17
Katičić 2002 Sintaksa hrvatskoga književnog jezika Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti 409 1
Po jutru se dan poznaje.
Translation: The morning shows how the day will be.
Živorad Kovačević Srpsko-engleski rečnik idioma, izraza i izreka https://books.google.com/books?id=d5RiAAAAMAAJ 1991 Filip Višnjić 68
Poklonjenom konju u zube se ne gleda.
English equivalent: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Paczolay Gyula 1997 European Proverbs in 55 languages DeProverbio.com 54 527 1-875943-44-7
Kovačević 1991 Srpsko-engleski rečnik idioma, izraza i izreka Filip Višnjić 245
Pomozi si sam pa će ti i Bog pomoći.
English equivalent: God helps those who help themselves.
umjetnosti 1968 Rad Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti Jugoslavenska akademija zanosti i umjetnosti. 290 1
Prvo skoči, pa onda reci: "hop"!
English equivalent: Walk the walk, then talk the talk.
Anić, Pranjković, Samardžija 1994 Rječnik hrvatskoga jezika Novi liber 947 1
R
Rugala se sova sjenici.
Translation: The owl mocked the tit.
English equivalent: The pot calls the kettle black.
Filipović Ivan Neues Wörterbuch der kroatischen und deutschen Sprache0: zum Gebrauche für Juristen, Beamte, Lehrer, Handel- und Gewerbetreibende. Kroatisch-deutscher Theil ; Bd. 2, P - Z https://books.google.com/books?id=XlplAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1575 1875 1575 Ruga
S
Skup samo kad umre, cini dobro
English equivalent: A covetous man does nothing that he should till he dies.
"In my opinion, every rich man is a miser."
Michel de Montaigne, Essais (1595)
Strauss Emanuel Abbreviated 1998 Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 24 504 0415160502
Sloga jači nesklad tlači.
English equivalent: United we stand, divided we fall; Union is strength.
"The defense of Tallinn and Riga and Vilnius is just as important as the defense of Berlin and Paris and London."
Barack Obama, Remarks by President Obama to the People of Estonia (2014)
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 79 2200 0415096243
Što možeš danas, ne ostavljaj za sutra.
English equivalent: Better now than later.
Kovačević 1991 Srpsko-engleski rečnik idioma, izraza i izreka Filip Višnjić 47 1
Starost – žalost.
English equivalent: Age is sorrow
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 177 2200 0415096243
Sto se siromahu da, nije nikad izgubljeno.
English equivalent: If you do good, good will be done to you.
English equivalent: You reap what you sow.
Strauss Emanuel Abbreviated 1998 Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 160 504 0415160502
T
Težak je život nas umjetnika.
English equivalent: Hard life of an artist.
Ramić, Alen (1995). Split, Croatia
Tiha voda brege dere.
English equivalent: Still waters run deep.
Majer Matia 1848 Pravila kako izobraževati ilirsko narečje i u obče slavenski jezik Natisnil Jožef Blaznik 24 130
Tko ne važe, nema blaga.
English equivalent: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 955 2200 0415096243
Tko pita, ne da.
English equivalent: The good mother says not "will you?", but gives.
Emanuel Strauss Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs http://books.google.com/books?id=sm96Wlt8Ql0C 11 January 2013 Routledge 978-1-136-78978-6
Tko pod drugim jamu kopa, sam u nju pada.
English equivalent: He who digs a hole under someone else will fall into it himself.
Drvodelić 1970 Hrvatskosrpsko-engleski rječnik Školska Knjiga 227 1
Tko si ne da dokazati, ne može mu se pomoći.
English equivalent: He that will not be counseled cannot be helped.
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 964 2200 0415096243
Tko rano rani, dvije sreće grabi.
English equivalent: The early bird catches the worm.
Težak 1998 Teorija i praksa nastave hrvatskoga jezika Školska Knjiga 235 1
Tko istinu gudi, dobije gudalom po prstima.
English equivalent: All truths are not to be told.
Strauss Emanuel Volume 2 1994 Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge 282 2200 0415096243
U
Uzdaj se u se i u svoje kljuse.
English equivalent: Distrust is the mother of safety.
1903 Hrvatska misao: s.n. 378 1
V
Velike ribe male proždiru.
English equivalent: Men are like fish; the great ones devour the small.
"If there’s one goal of this conference, it’s to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up."
Barack Obama, "Obamas focus on Antibullying Efforts" Jackie Calmes, The New York Times, March 10, 2011.
Paczolay Gyula 1997 European Proverbs in 55 languages DeProverbio.com 420 527 1-875943-44-7
Vrana vrani oči ne kopa.
English equivalent: Crows will not pick out Crow's eyes.
Source: Strauss Emmanuel 1998 Dictionary of European Proverbs Routledge 31 0415160502
Vrijeme je novac.
English equivalent and translation: Time is money.
Vuk dlaku mijenja, ali ćud nikada.
The wolf changes his fur, but never his temperament.
English equivalent: A fox may change its skin, but never its character.
Latin equivalent: Vulpes pilum mutat, non mores.
Z
Željezo se kuje dok je vruće.
English equivalent: Forge while the iron is hot.
Anić, Pranjković, Samardžija 1994 Rječnik hrvatskoga jezika Novi liber 385 1
Žuri polako.
English equivalent: Make haste slowly.
Horvat 1988 Besa: brodski dnevnik Mladost 25 1
Category:Proverbs by language
Category:Croatia
es:Proverbios croatas