Posts Tagged “Korean”

Funny Korean Wisdom

Posted by Nabil Medawar in Proverbs, tags: Korean

A day-old pigeon cannot fly over a mountain pass.
A fish wouldn’t get into trouble if it kept its mouth shut.
A hunter’s knife cannot carve its own handle.
Aim high in your career but stay humble in your heart.
A man’s youth will never die, unless he kills himself.
A newborn baby has no fear of tigers.
A nobleman’s calf does not know how a butcher kills.
A physician’s neighbor is never a doctor.
A poor old horse will have a worn out tail.
A turtle can only get on it by sticking its neck out.
Better in the grave than be a slave.
Butterflies come to pretty flowers.
Cast no dirt into the well that gives you water.
Cast not pearls to swine.
Catch not at the shadow, and lose the substance.
Cross even a stone bridge after you’ve tested it.
Do not draw your sword to kill a fly.
Even a fish wouldn’t get into trouble if it kept its mouth shut.
Even a monk can’t shave his own head.
Even a sheet of paper is lighter when two people lift it.
Even children of the same mother look different.
Even honey can taste bitter if it’s used as medicine.
Even the best song becomes tiresome if heard too often.
Give an extra piece of cake to a stepchild.
If a pedestrian sees a horse he will want to ride it.
If there is a rich man in the area three villages are ruined.
If you kick a stone in anger, you’ll hurt your own foot.
If you starve for three days, there is no thought that does not invade your imagination.
If you want a well, only dig in one place.
In the valley where there are no tigers the hare is king.
It is a bad plowman that quarrels with his ox.
Man’s affairs are evaluated only after his coffin is closed.
Man’s extremity, God’s opportunity.
No sleep, no dream.
Power lasts ten years; influence not more than a hundred.
Put off for one day and ten days will pass by.
Remember, even monkeys fall out of trees.
Tall branches are apt to be broken.
Tap even a stone bridge before crossing.
The bad calligrapher is choosy about his brushes.
The bad plowman quarrels with his ox.
The bull that is used to the sun shivers by the light of the moon.
The deeper the waters are, the more still they run.
The frog forgets that he was once a tadpole.
The matchmaker gets three cups of wine when he succeeds and three slaps on the cheek when he fails.
The nicest woman is your own; the nicest harvest is your neighbors.
There is no flower that lasts ten days and no might lasts ten years.
There is no winter without snow, no spring without sunshine, and no happiness without companions.
The thief hates the moon.
Three years will eradicate even murderous thoughts.
Useful trees are cut down first.
Virginity can be lost in one night.
When you have three daughters, you sleep with the door open.
Where there are no tigers, a wildcat is very self-important.
Wise men philosophize as the fools live on.
Woman was born three days earlier than the devil.
Words have no wings but they can fly many thousands of miles.
You cannot strike a face that is smiling.
You will hate a beautiful song if you sing it often.