ProverbPedia

“Malayalam Proverb:
കണ്ടാൽ കളി കണ്ടില്ലെങ്കിൽ കാര്യം”
— English Translation:
A harmless joke if caught in the act, but serious theft if unnoticed. (An opportunist who disguises underhanded crimes as playful pranks whenever caught.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കണക്കു പറഞ്ഞാൽ കഞ്ഞിക്കു പറ്റില്ല”
— English Translation:
If you insist on rigid accounting, you will not have enough to brew simple porridge. (Hyper-exacting calculation destroys the spirit of hospitality and mutual goodwill.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കണ്ടിമുഖത്തു മീൻ അടുത്തപോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like fish crowding into the narrow breach of the dike. (Flocking blindly into a bottleneck or trap where capture is effortless and certain.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കണക്കു വിട്ടാൽ പിണക്കു വരും”
— English Translation:
Abandon proper accounts, and bitter quarrels will surely follow. (Clear accounts preserve friendships; financial ambiguity breeds distrust and conflict.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കണ്ടിയിരിക്കെ മതിൽ തുള്ളരുതു”
— English Translation:
When an open gate exists, do not leap over the high perimeter wall. (Do not take unnecessary, hazardous shortcuts when an open, legitimate route lies right before you.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കണിശൻ ഇനിക്കു മുമ്പെ പേർ വിളിച്ചു”
— English Translation:
The rigid stickler called the roll before the appointed hour had even arrived. (Petty tyrants take malicious delight in enforcing premature penalties against others.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കണ്ണൻവാഴച്ചുവട്ടിൽ കാളിവാഴയുണ്ടാകുമൊ”
— English Translation:
Will a coarse, inferior plantain ever sprout from the base of a prime Kannan banana tree? (Noble parents yield noble progeny; quality and character breed true to their origins.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കണ്ടതിലോഹരി എടുത്താൽ വെന്തതിലോഹരി തിന്നാം”
— English Translation:
If you take your share in whatever work is seen, you may take your share in whatever is cooked. (He who does not work shall not eat; contribute to the labor if you wish to share the feast.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കണ്ണി ഒന്നുപൊട്ടിയാൽ ചങ്ങലയും പൊട്ടി”
— English Translation:
If a single link snaps, the whole chain is broken. (A system is only as strong as its weakest link; one single failure compromises the entire structure.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കടം കൊടുത്താൽ ഇടവും കൊടുക്കണം”
— English Translation:
If you lend money, you must also be prepared to surrender peace and goodwill. (Lending to acquaintances often costs both the principal and the relationship.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കട്ടകൊണ്ടു കട്ടതല്ലി”
— English Translation:
Smashing one clod of earth with another clod of earth. (Fighting fire with fire; using equal, matched force to break an obstacle.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കടം വാങ്ങി ഇടം ചെയ്യൊല്ലാ”
— English Translation:
Do not borrow funds just to put on grand displays or make speculative investments. (Never build vanity or risky ventures on borrowed money.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കട്ടതു ചുട്ടു പോകും”
— English Translation:
Stolen goods will burn away to ashes. (Ill-gotten wealth never prospers and eventually brings its own destruction.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കടം വീടിയാൽ (ഇല്ലെങ്കിൽ) ധനം”
— English Translation:
When debts are cleared (or when one is debt-free), that itself is fortune. (Freedom from financial obligation is the truest form of wealth.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കട്ടവൻ നിൽക്കുമ്പോൾ ഉളിഞ്ഞവന്റെ തലപോയി”
— English Translation:
While the actual thief stood brazenly by, the timid soul who ducked had his head cut off. (The brazen culprit escapes scot-free while an innocent, frightened bystander takes the blame.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കടൽ ചാടാനാഗ്രഹമുണ്ടു, തോടുചാടാൻ കാലുമില്ല”
— English Translation:
Craving to leap across the ocean, but lacking legs even to jump a roadside ditch. (Harboring grand ambitions that are laughably detached from one's puny abilities.)