Talk:Czech proverbs

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B

• "Bez práce nejsou koláče."
  • Translation: There are no cakes without work.
  • English equivalent: You don't work; you don't eat.
  • English equivalent: There's no such thing as a free lunch.

  English equivalent: No pain, no gain.

• • English equivalent: No bees, no honey; no work, no money.
• "Boží mlýny melou pomalu, ale jistě."
  • Translation: God's mills grind slowly, but surely.

  English equivalent: Mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small 

• "Bez peněz do hospody nelez."
  • Translation: Never go to a pub without money.
  • Meaning: Never enter into an activity with a price, without that price.
  • English equivalent: You have to pay to play.

C

• "Co na srdci, to na jazyku."
  • Translation: What's in the heart, that's on the tongue.
  • English equivalent: "Dutch uncle"

  English equivalent: Straight as a die

• • Meaning: One is too frank.

• "Co můžeš udělat dnes, neodkládej na zítřek."
  • Translation, English equivalent: Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

• "Co oči nevidí, srdce nebolí."
  • Translation:What eyes don´t see, heart doesn´t hurt.
  • English Equivalent: Out of sight - out of mind.

• What you don't have in your head you'll have in your feet.

  Heh, never heard of that, but should be translated as "Co nemáš v hlavě, budeš mít v nohách

  Nah, it's usually "co není v hlavě, musí být v nohách" / "that which isn't in the head has to be in the legs". Used when somebody has to return for something they've forgotten.

• "Co se doma uvaří, to se doma sní."
  • Translation: What is cooked home is eaten home.

• "Co se v mládí naučíš, ve stáří jako když najdeš."
  • Translation: What you learn when you´re young, you'll find useful when you get old.

• "Čistota půl zdraví."
  • Translation: Cleanliness is half of health.
  • English: Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

D

• "Devatero řemesel - desátá bída."
  • Ennead of trade - tenth misery.
  • Meaning: If somebody knows a lot of things, he knows nothing well.
  • English equivalent: A jack of all trades and master of none.
• "Důvěřuj, ale prověřuj."
  • Translation: Trust, but verify.
    • Comment: Probably as a misquote (originally intentional?) of Russian "Не верь, но веруй" (Don't trust, verify"), variously ascribed to Lenin or Dzerzhinsky, but was unable to... verify either. --Thrissel 12:11, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

H

• "Hlad je nejlepší kuchař."
  • Translation: Hunger is the best cook.
  • English equivalent: Hunger is the best spice.

• "Host a ryba třetí den smrdí."
  • Translation: A guest and a fish stink on the third day.
  • English equivalent: Fish and visitors stink after three days.

• "Host do domu, bůh do domu."
  • Translation: Guest in the house, God in the house.

J

• "Jak kdo zaseje, tak také sklidí."
  • Translation: As one sows, so shall he reap.
  • English equivalent: As you sow, so shall you reap.

• "Jak si kdo ustele, tak si také lehne."
  • Translation: As one makes his bed, that way he shall lie down.
  • English equivalent: As you make your bed, so you must lie in it.

• "Jedna vlaštovka jaro nedělá."
  • One swallow doesn't make a spring

K

• "Kdo chce, hledá způsoby, kdo nechce, hledá důvody."
  • Translation: He who really wants looks for solutions, he who doesn't looks for excusses.

• "Kdo je (moc) zvědavý, bude brzy starý."
  • Translation: He who is (too) curious shall grow old soon.
  • English equivalent: Curiosity killed the cat.

• "Kdo neumí, ten čumí."
  • Translation: He who doesn't know, he stares.

• "Kdo neumí, učí."
  • Translation: He who doesn't know teaches others. (It is a parody of previous proverb.)
  • Comp. Shaw's: He who can does, he who can't teaches.

• "Kdo jinému jámu kopá, sám do ní padá."
  • Translation: He who digs a pit trap for someone falls into it himself.
  • English equivalent: What goes around comes around.

• "Kdo si počká, ten se dočká."
  • Translation: He who waits shall live to see.
  • English equivalent: All things come to one who waits.

  English equivalent: Good things come to him who waits 
   

• "Kdo šetří, má za tři."
  • Translation: He who saves has enough for three [people].
  • English equivalent: A penny saved is a penny earned.

• "Kdo zaváhá, nežere."
  • Translation: He who's late won't get the grub.
  • English equivalent: First come, first served.

• "Komu se nelení, tomu se zelení."
  • Translation: He who is not lazy shall get the greens.
  • Meaning: Who is not lazy will be successful.

• "Kdo chce psa bít, hůl si vždycky najde"
  • Translation: He who wants to beat the dog will always find a stick"
  • Meaning: You can always somehow justify your actions after you've already decided on something.

L

• "Láska hory přenáší."
  • Translation: Love moves mountains.
  • English equivalent: Love conquers all.

• "Láska prochází žaludkem."
  • Translation: Love goes via the stomach.
  • English equivalent: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

• "Lépe pozdě než nikdy." or "Pozdě, ale přece"
  • Translation, English equivalent: Better late than never.

• "Líná huba, holé neštěstí."
  • Translation: A lazy mouth, very unlucky.
  • If you don't ask you don't get.

M

• "Malé ryby taky ryby."
  • Translation: small fish is also fish.

• "Mezi slepými jednooký králem."
  • Translation, English equivalent: In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is the king.

• "Mnoho psů, zajícova smrt."
  • Translation: Many dogs, rabbit's death.

• "Muž je hlavou rodiny a žena krkem."
  • Translation: A man is the head of a family, a woman is its neck.

N

• "Nehas, co tě nepálí."
  • Translation: Don't put out a fire that isn't burning you.
  • Meaning: "Don't get involved into other peoples' problems." The underlying meaning is either not to poke one's nose into other peoples' business, but more often it is meant as a controversial advice not to waste one's effort on issues that are indifferent to one (or might even cause hardship to one).

• "Není všechno zlato, co se třpytí."
  • Translation, English equivalent: All that is gold does not glitter

O

• Oči jsou zrcadlem duše.
  • Literal translation: The eyes are the mirror of the soul.
  • Idiomatic translation: The eyes are the window to the soul.

P

• "Pes, který štěká, nekouše."
  • Translation: A dog that barks doesn't bite.
  • English equivalent: Barking dogs seldom bite.

• "Pivo dělá hezká těla."
  • Translation: Beer makes beautiful bodies.
  • Meaning: A warning to the misleading effects of alcohol.
  • Ironic reference to "beer belly", associated with overweight men who spend too much time in pubs eating and drinking beer.

• "Po bitvě je každý generálem."
  • Translation: After a battle everyone is a general.
  • English equivalent: Hindsight is 20-20.

• "Pod svícnem bývá největší tma."
  • Literal translation: The greatest darkness is under the candlestick.
  • Meaning: The nearest things are the easiest to overlook.
  • Engish equivalent: The darkest place is under the candlestick.

• "Pořádek dělá přátele."
  • Translation: Order makes friends.
  • English equivalent: Good fences make good neighbors.

• "Pozdě bycha honiti."
  • Translation: It is too late to say: "If only I could"
  • English equivalent: Marry in haste, repent in leisure.

• "Pýcha předchází pád."
  • Translation: Pride preceeds the fall.
  • English equivalent: Pride comes before the fall.

S

• "S úsměvem jde všechno líp."
  • Translation: Everything works better with a smile.

• "Stokrát nic umořilo osla."
  • Translation: A hundred times nothing killed the donkey.
  • Meaning: Even the smallest chores are tiresome (if there is too many).

• "Strach má velké oči."
  • Translation: Fear has big eyes.
  • Meaning: People overestimate danger because of fear.

• "Šaty dělaji člověka."
  • English equivalent: Clothes make the man.

V

• "V nouzi poznáš přítele."
  • Translation: When in need, you shall know a friend.
  • English equivalent: A friend in need is a friend indeed.
• "Vrána k vráně sedá, (rovný rovného si hledá.)"
  • Translation: A crow sits next to a crow, (one searches for an equal.)
  • English equivalent: Birds of a feather flock together.
• "Vrána vráně oči nevyklove."
  • Translation: A crow will not peck out a crow's eyes.
  • English equivalent: Dogs don't eat dogs.
• "Všechny cesty vedou do Říma."
  • Translation, English equivalent: All roads lead to Rome.
• "Všude dobře, doma nejlépe."
  • Translation: Everywhere is well, at home it's best.
  • English equivalent: East or West, home is best.
  • English equivalent: There's no place like home.
• "Všude dobře, doma manželka." (parody of previous proverb)
  • Translation: Everywhere is well, at home a wife.
• "Vyřčené slovo nevrátíš."
  • English equivalent: A word spoken is past recalling.
  • Meaning: "You cannot take back what you have said, so think carefully nefore speaking."
• "V zdravém těle zdravý duch."
  • Translation: In a healthy body a healthy spirit.
  • English equivalent: A sound mind in a sound body.
• "Výjimka potvrzuje pravidlo."
  • Translation: An exception confirms a rule.

Z

• "Žádný učený z nebe nespadl."
  • Translation: Wise men don't fall from the sky.
  • Meaning: Knowledge doesn't come easily.
  • English equivalent: You can't expect knowledge to hit you over the head.

Jablko nepadá daleko od stromu

This proverb is from a book of English proverbs translated into Czech. To me, that makes it NOT a Czech proverb, but merely the translation of an English one. It would be like taking the literal translation of Czech proverbs here and placing them on the English Proverbs page. 83.70.170.48 09:09, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Real czech proverbs

In the true, I am from Czech Republic and some of these proverbs I never ever heard. Maybe I just was unlucky, but no one know. It is nowhere on lists of cz proverbs, except this untrusted book.

Anyway some proverbs sounds very strange a bit like old language, wrong order of words, some without punctuation. In really it sounds like from someone who born in czech republic and grow up in australia from age 5 years. I repaired some, but I like just delete many of them. I can add real proverbs, but with source it is problem.

Source is always problem, if any book will wrote it is source, but author of book used untrusted sources often, like nowaday from internet pages on free webhosting. I met with this often.

P.S. I mean on the page, proverbs in discussion on the top are real and often used and good written, but without source. :/ —This unsigned comment is by Amras Tasartir (talk • contribs) 07:21‎, 20 dec 2012 (UTC).

You can find book sources on Google Books. Many of the proverbs on Dictionary of European Proverbs seem to be archaic, but that does not make them false. The reason the proverbs are so poorly written is that they are written down from the book to the page by me, who does not know any Czech at all! Rather than deleting proverbs, please write down a comment next to them, and tell us what is wrong with them. If you are able to, write these comments tagged with <!-- -->, so that they will be shown when editing, but not otherwhise. --Spannerjam (talk) 12:53, 20 December 2012 (UTC)