ProverbPedia

“Malayalam Proverb:
കള്ളുകണ്ട ഈച്ചയെപ്പോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like a fly catching sight of palm toddy. (Drawn irresistibly by a sweet temptation straight into an inescapable, drowning trap.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കല്ലെൽപെടുത്താൽ പല്ലെതെറിക്കും”
— English Translation:
Bite down hard on a stone, and your tooth will shatter. (Recklessly clashing against an unyielding obstacle will only break the aggressor.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കള്ളുപീടികയിൽ നിന്നു പാലു കുടിച്ചാലും കളെളന്നെപറയൂ”
— English Translation:
Even if you drink fresh milk inside a toddy tavern, everyone will swear you drank liquor. (Suspicious environments destroy reputation; innocent actions in disreputable places are always judged guilty.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കരയുന്ന കുട്ടിക്കെ പാൽ ഉള്ളൂ”
— English Translation:
Only the weeping child gets fed with milk. (The squeaky wheel gets the grease; one must vocalize a need to receive attention.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കർക്കടഞ്ഞാറ്റിൽ പട്ടിണി കിടന്നതു പുത്തരി കഴിഞ്ഞാൽ മറക്കരുതു”
— English Translation:
Once the feast of the fresh harvest arrives, do not forget the famine endured during the monsoon rains. (Never let newfound prosperity erase the memory and humble lessons of your starving days.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കരയടുക്കുമ്പോൾ തുഴയിട്ടുകളയല്ലൊ”
— English Translation:
Do not toss away your oars when the shore is right in sight. (Never surrender your effort or focus just as you approach the finish line.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കറന്നുവിട്ടഅമ്മെക്കു ഭാഗ്യമുണ്ടെങ്കിൽ കാൽ ചുവട്ടിൽ തന്നെ വന്നുചേരും”
— English Translation:
If the milch cow turned out to pasture has good fortune, she will return straight to her master's doorstep. (What is legitimately yours by right and destiny will find its way back to you naturally.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കരയുന്നവൻ കച്ചൊടം തുടങ്ങരുതു”
— English Translation:
A man given to weeping should never venture into commerce. (Trade demands grit, composure, and a steady heart; faint-hearted despair has no place in business.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കറുപ്പുണ്ടെങ്കിലെ വെളുപ്പറിയൂ”
— English Translation:
Only in the presence of black can white be recognized. (Contrast is essential to perception; light is understood through shadow, and happiness through trial.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കരിക്കട്ട കഴുകുന്തോറും കറുക്കും”
— English Translation:
The more you wash a lump of charcoal, the blacker it appears. (Inherent defects cannot be cleansed; attempting to whitewash a fundamentally corrupt character only makes its foulness clearer.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കറിക്കു പോരാത്ത കണ്ടം നുറുക്കല്ല”
— English Translation:
Do not chop vegetables into pieces so small that they cannot serve the curry. (Do not fragment resources or plans into portions so petty that they lose all practical utility.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കരിമ്പടത്തേൽ കറപറ്റുകയില്ല”
— English Translation:
A black woolen blanket shows no stain. (A person whose character is already dark or coarse cannot be disgraced further by petty slander.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കറുപ്പും ചെരിപ്പും അടുപ്പിക്കരുതു”
— English Translation:
Do not bring opium and travel sandals together. (Do not mix debilitating indulgence with active enterprise, or combine conflicting vices.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കരിമ്പിൻ തോട്ടത്തിൽ കുറുക്കൻ കടന്നപോലെ (ആന കേറിയപോലെ)”
— English Translation:
Like a fox (or an elephant) rampaging through a sugarcane patch. (Rampant, unchecked gluttony and wanton destruction through a rich bounty.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കറ്റയും തലയിൽവെച്ചു കളം ചെത്തരുതു”
— English Translation:
Do not attempt to scrape and clean the threshing floor with a heavy sheaf balanced on your head. (Do not attempt delicate foundation work while still weighed down by massive, unmanaged burdens.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കരിമ്പിനു കമ്പുദോഷം”
— English Translation:
Sugarcane is afflicted by bore-worms and hard nodes. (Even the sweetest and most prized things possess their own inherent flaws and vulnerabilities.)