Common Greek and Turkish proverbs

Common Greek and Turkish proverbs

 

Πρώτα βγαίνει η ψυχή και μετά το χούι. Χούι is a Turkish word with Persian roots. It means “habit” and it is usually a bad habit for the other people. This proverb emphasizes on how strong is the force of habit. Human cannot easily change their habits. When someone dies, first comes out his soul and then his bad habits. People until they die, they don’t change their habits.

Νηστικό αρκούδι δε χορεύει. We use this proverb in both languages to say that our body needs food to fulfill the daily activities. We use it metaphorically too to say that the man who is not geting paid enough, he cannot be good in his work.

Σκύλος που γαβγίζει δε δαγκώνει.   The person who shows his anger is less dangerous than the person who doesn’t. On the contrary the quiet person is more dangerous. When someone is shouting, he tries only to scare the others. If someone wants to harm someone else, he will attach him immediately, without shouting first.

Δείξε με τον φίλο σου να σου πω ποιος είσαι. Platon, the ancient Greek philosopher, said that “η ομοιότητα γεννά φιλία/the similarity gives birth to a friendship”.  This is exactly what this proverb says. Our friends are the people we chose to keep in our lives, so it is normal that they have common characteristics with us. It is normal to share with them common ideas and habits. It is not accidental that when we want to learn what kind of person is Giorgakis, we try to meet his friends.

Όποιος βιάζεται, σκοντάφτει.There are three versions of this proverb in Turkish. Σκοντάφτω means that my foot hits on something when I walk or run. A bad situation, a bad end is usually the result for a person in hurry. When we want to do something, we shouldn’t try to finish it quickly, because it is possible that we will not succeed, but we will fail. We should always be very careful in order to  succeed in what we wish to.     

Γελάει καλύτερα όποιος γελάει τελευταίος.  I would say that this proverb is a warning. We say to the other person that it is very early for him to feel happy, and to think that he win, because maybe at the end everything will be different.

Κύλησε ο τέντζερης και βρήκε το καπάκι. We usually say this proverb ironically. It is used to describe objects and persons who match each other and also to emphasize the common habits between two persons. These habits are usually negative ones. The people about whom we talk become friends or marry one the other.

Ο λύκος κι αν εγέρασε και άσπρισε το μαλλί του, μήτε τη γνώμη άλλαξε, μήτε την κεφαλή του.   It is a proverb we use when we see someone repeating the same mistakes. We want to say that someone’s habits cannot change no matter how much time passes. And of course we talk about bad habits.

Χωριό που φαίνεται κολαούζο δε θέλει.  kilavuz in Turkish means “guide”, the person who knows very well an area/ a place and he guides the people who don’t know the way to go there. If the village is visible, there is no need of a guide to show us the street to go to the village. So we don’t need an explanation or someone to tell us what to do when we are in a clear and known to us situation.

Όπου λαλούν πολλοί κοκόροι, αργεί να ξημερώσει.   Those of you who have lived even a few days in a village, you will have noticed that the cocks wake up before your alarm clock and they start crowing to tell us that it is morning. According to this proverb, in the place that many cocks are crowing, it dawns later. Of course we use this proverb metaphorically to say that if there are many different ideas about a topic, it takes more time to find the solution. Also the ancient Greeks were telling Πολλοί στρατηγοί Καρίαν απώλεσαν / many generals lost Karia.

Το μήλο κάτω από την μηλιά θα πέσει. Like the apple trees’ fruits fall under the apple tree, the same way man adopts the habits of other people who are very close to him, he is influenced by them and becomes like them. We usually use this proverb for a child which adopts his parents’ habits and it follows its parents steps. Children adopt parents’ good or bad behavior and habits and generally they adopt behaviors from people around them.

   Και οι τοίχοι έχουν αφτιά.  Using this proverb we advice someone to be careful and to not speak loudly because there is always the danger that someone else will listen to what he is telling to us. Of course he speaks about something very important and not about his favorite series in Netflix.

Το πρόβατο που φεύγει από το μαντρί, το τρώει ο λύκος. In the Greek proverb is used the word μαντρί instead of the word κοπάδι. Μαντρί is a place with a fence all around that we use in order to herd flocks of sheep or other animals. The person who leaves his friends or generally a group/team is in danger and he has a bad end. People who leave their friends and try to do something alone are in danger and no one support/help them. This proverb shows that people should always act with unity/in collaboration with other people.