Liông kau liông, hōng kau hōng, ún-ku ê kau tòng-gōng
Usually negative. Literally: The dragons pairs with a dragon, the phoenix with a phoenix, the hunchback with the idiot.
Liông kau liông, hōng kau hōng, ún-ku ê kau tòng-gōng
Usually negative. Literally: The dragons pairs with a dragon, the phoenix with a phoenix, the hunchback with the idiot.
Categories: Proverbs
Ku chhiò pih bô bóe
Literally: “The turtle laughing at the terrapin for having no tail.”
Related post here.
Categories: Proverbs
Iú kī hū, pit iú kî chú
Literally: You have the father, you must also have his son.
Related entry here.
Kó͘-chéⁿ chúi-ke, m̄ chai thiⁿ lōa tōa
Literally: a frog in a well doesn’t know how big the sky is.
(i.e., “ignorant of the wider world or bigger picture.”)
Lâng put khó māu-siòng, hái-chúi put khó táu-liông
Literally: You can’t judge a person by his appearance, (like) you can’t measure the sea by liters.
Categories: Proverbs
Múi chi̍t lúi môe-kùi-hoe lóng ū chhì
This is from English, not Taiwanese. Which, of course, brings us to:
Múi chi̍t lúi môe-kùi-hoe lóng ū chhì, chiū chhin-chhiūⁿ sī múi chi̍t ê khāu-bò͘·-ì lóng chhiùⁿ chi̍t-tè pi-siong ê koa.
Every rose has its thorn, just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song.
Categories: Entertainment · Proverbs
Moa iûⁿ-á-phôe ê iá-lông
Literally: A wild wolf with a sheepskin over its shoulders
Chhian-kin la̍t8, m̄7 ta̍t8-tit sì-niú miā
Literally: One thousand pounds of strength isn’t worth four ounces of luck.
Categories: Proverbs
Chhùi liām keng, chhiú bong leng.
Literally: The mouth recites sutras, (while) the hand gropes a breast.
Categories: Politics · Proverbs · Religion and Morality · Vices
Chi̍t8-ki chháu, chi̍t8-tiám lō͘·
Literally: One blade of grass (gets) one drop of dew.
The English proverb I have as this proverb’s equivalent come from the Sermon on the Mount. The whole saying goes, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” In other words, as it’s usually used in Taiwan, “you’ll find a job or livelihood, so don’t worry.”