The more, the merrier

Ke lâng ke hok-khì

Literally: More people more fortune

A fish rots from the head; if the top (parent/boss) isn’t upright, the low will be twisted

Siōng put chèng, hā chek oai

Literally: Top not straight, bottom then crooked

Good fences make good neighbors

Keh-piah chhin-ke, lé-sò͘ goân-chāi

Literally: (Even if) your next-door neighbors are close relatives, you should still maintain politeness.

Rely on Heaven, not on Man

Thiⁿ chhī lâng pûi chut chut, lâng chhī lâng chhun chi̍t ki kut

Literally: (When) Heaven feeds men (they’re) fat as can be, (when) people feed people (there) remains (only) one bone

Make a sudden change for the better; do an about face; have an epiphany; find Jesus

Pàng hā tô͘-to, li̍p tē sêng hu̍t

Literally: Put down the butcher knife, (and) immediately become a buddha

(Buddhism–like Stoicism and, when you get down to brass tacks, Christianity–rejects the Aristotelian concept of virtue .)

Some interesting sayings about marriage

These are a series of rhymes related to marriage. I’ve never heard anyone recite the following list before, but I found them listed in a book of Taiwanese sayings from Maryknoll, and I thought they were interesting:

Kè-tio̍h be-chhài ang, saⁿ tǹg m̄ sī chhài, chiū sī chhang.

Kè-tio̍h chiú-kúi ang, chiú-chùi sio-phah giú thâu-chang.

Kè-tio̍h choh-chhân ang, bô-êng thang hó sé thâu chang.

Kè-tio̍h chò-tê ang, cha̍p mê, káu mê khang.

Kè-tio̍h é-á ang, sio-hiuⁿ, tiám-hoé chhiáⁿ pa̍t-lâng.

Kè-tio̍h chhàu-thâu-á ang, liàm mī-phoē lâi that phīⁿ-khang.

Kè-tio̍h chheⁿ-mê ang, se-thâu, boah-hún bô chhái-kang.

Kè-tio̍h hong-liû ang, sam-tin hái-bī iā chia̍h bē phang.

Kè-tio̍h ian-tâu-á, saⁿ ji̍t bô chia̍h mā khin-sang.

Kè-tio̍h pīn-toāⁿ ang, khiām-tn̂g neh-tō͘ iā bô-chhái kang.

Kè-tio̍h poah-kiáu ang, chi̍t chhiú koāⁿ bah, chi̍t chhiú koāⁿ chhang.

Kè-tio̍h thâi-ti-á ang, bô iû chú-chhài mā ē phang.

Kè-tio̍h tha̍k-chheh ang, chhn̂g-thâu khùn, chhn̂g-boé phang.

Kè-tio̍h thó-hái ang, saⁿ-keⁿ poàⁿ-mê la̍h chàu-khang.

Kè-tio̍h ún-ku ang, khùn tio̍h mî-phoā ē kek khang.

Reminds me a little of the English rhyme my mother used to recite about children born on different days of the week:

Monday’s child is fair of face,

Tuesday’s child is full of grace,

Wednesday’s child is full of woe,

Thursday’s child has far to go;

Friday’s child is loving and giving,

Saturday’s child works hard for a living;

But the child that is born on the Sabbath day,

Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

Watch our for the quiet ones; quietly achieve great things

Tiām tiām chia̍h saⁿ oáⁿ kong poàⁿ

Literally: Without a word eat three and a half big bowls

Set a good example for

Ū iūⁿ, khoàⁿ iūⁿ (; bô iūⁿ, ka-tī siūⁿ)

Literally: Have a model/form, refer to the model/form; not have a model/form, think for yourself

Nothing’s perfect; the perfect is the enemy of the good

Ū chi̍t hó, bô nn̄g hó

Literally: have one good, not have two good

Where there’s a will, there’s a way; will is most important

Ū sim phah chio̍h, chio̍h chiâⁿ chhng

Literally: Have heart hit rock, rock becomes a hole