Saturday, October 16, 2010

Idioms and proverbs from India




Uske ghar mein der hai andher nahi
There is delay in his house but not injustice
Meaning: In god's house there might be delay in serving justice but never overlooked.


Uski lathi mein awaaz nahi hai
His stick doesn't make noise.
Meaning: God's justice

Ram milaee jodi, ek aandha, ek kodhi
God made match, one is blind and the other is a leper
Meaning: Made for each other in a negative manner.

Choona lagana
To put an alkaline paste
Meaning: To dupe someone

Gadhe ke sir pe se singh gayab hona
The horn on the head of a donkey vanishes
Meaning: To be missing

Kheesaee billi khamba noche
Embarrassed cat scratches a pillar
Meaning: To be embarrassed

Hathi si chal
Walk like an elephant
Meaning: No care attitude

Bheegi billi
Wet cat 
Meaning: Scared person

Baap bada na bhaiya, sabse bada rupaiya
Neither is the father nor the brother are big, only money is big.
Meaning: Money rules over relationships as well.

Aasteen ka saap
Snake of the sleeve
Meaning: The decietful is very closely related or known

Garibi mein atta geela
The dough is runny in poverty
Meaning: In adversity, everything takes a bad turn.

Jale pe namak chidkna
To sprinkle salt on the burn
Meaning: To add to the miseries

Ghada charya khet na paap na punya
To let the donkey graze in the farm, you will not reap friut nor sin
Meaning: Meaningless activity

Bhawan ke ghar der hai andher nahi
There is delay in god's house not darkness
Meaning: All is fair in life even if there are slight delays.

Laatoen ke bhoot batoen se nahi mante
The ghost of feet don't agree to talks
Meaning: Those who are stubborn will not be easliy convinced by logical talking.

Jaisi karni vaisi bharni
What you do , so shall you fill
Meaning: You will reap as you sow

Hing lage na phitkari, rang bhi chowka aeh
No need for asafoetida or potash alum to get colour
Meaning: To have a gain without much effort

Lohe ke chane chabana


To chew iron pellets
Meaning: To be confronted by an incredibly difficult task

Sabr ka phal mitha hota hai
The fruit of patience is sweet
Meaning: Patience is virtue

Muh me sone ki chamch le kar paida hona
To be be born with a gold spoon in the mouth 
Meaning: To be born rich

Beeta hua pal vapas nahi aata
Gone time does not come back
Meaning: Don't dwell in past
Time doesn't come back so no point wasting time

Dushman ke dant khatte karna
To make the teeth of enemy sour
Meaning: To defeat the enemy

Dhobte to tinke ka sahara
Those who are drowning get help of a twig 
Meaning: Even the smallest of the thing can help those in dire need

Dhoop me bal safed karna
To whiten hair in the sun 
Meaning: To get experience as age progresses

Ghar ki murgi dal brabar
Pet chicken is like lentil
Meaning: Not to realize the worth of loved ones

Hawa se batein karna
To talk to the wind
Meaning: As fast as the wind

Ghee ke diye jalana
To light oil lamp full of ghee (clarified butter)
Meaning: To rejoice

Chalti ka naam gadi
That which runs is called a car
Meaning: When the things are running smoothly, let it be

Dal me kuch kala hai
There is sometging black in the lentil
Meaning: Something is fishy

Jaisi karni, vasi bharni
To get results according to actions
Meaning: You reap as you sow

Apne mouh miya mithu
To have a mouth like a parrot
Meaning: To praise one ownself

Andha kya chahe, do aankh
What does the blind desires , but ofcourse eyesight
Meaning: To desire just the perfect thing

Chor chor mausare bhai
Thieves are cousins
Meaning: Evil attracts evil

Ulta chor kotwal ko datein
The thief scolds the police officier 
Meaning: Offence is the best defence

Lakeer ka fakir
Master of a line
Meaning: To go about the same old beaten path

Aant bhala tho sab bhala
If the end is good then all is good
Meaning: All's well that ends well

Sau sunar ki, ek lohar ki
Hundred blows of goldsmith is comparable to one blow of ironsmith 
Meaning: One powerful blow is comparable to a hundred smaller blows

Ooth ke mouh me jeera
Cumin in camel's mouth
Meaning: A very small gain as compared to the the larger gain expected

Bandar kya jane adrak ka swad
Monkey doesn't know the taste of ginger
Meaning: Those who don't know, can't appreciate

Pani pani hona
To become water water
Meaning: To be embarrassed

Ab pachtay hot kya jab chidiya chug gayi khet
What is the use of repenting now when the bird has eaten the harvest
Meaning: No use repenting when it is too late to undo the damage

Aap bhale to jag bhala
Good person sees the whole world as good
Meaning: Good person sees the whole world as good

Ek teer do nishane
One arrow, two targets
Meaning: To achieve two things with one means

Kaan ka kaccha hona
To be weak of ears
Meaning: To believe everything one hears

Thota chana baje ghana
Hollow lentil makes more noise
Meaning: Those who are not capable of delivering talk more

Ek haath se taali nahi bajati
You can not clap with one hand
Meaning: It takes two

Nau do gayara
Nine plus two makes eleven
Meaning: To run away

Ek aur ek gayaraha
One plus one makes eleven
Meaning: Strength in unity

Bahti ganga me hath dona
To wash ones hand in the river
Meaning: To be an opportunist

Ulti ganga bahana
Meaning: To go against the law of nature

Nach na jane agan tedha
One doesn’t know how to dance and blames it on the stage being uneven
Meaning: To blame the means available rather than capability

900 chuhe khake billi haj ko chali
Cat went to pray after eating 900 rats
Meaning: Pretending to be innicent after many sins

Hathi ke dant dekhane ke aur khane ke aur
Elephant has two set of teeth-one to show off and the other to chew with
Meaning: What you see is not necessarily true

Jo garjte hai vo baraste nahi
Those who thunder don’t pour


Meaning: Those who talk don’t perform


No comments:

Post a Comment