ProverbPedia

“Malayalam Proverb:
കൈനനയാതെ മീൻപിടിക്കാമൊ”
— English Translation:
Can you catch fish without wetting your hands? (No pain, no gain; worthwhile rewards cannot be attained without effort and getting one's hands dirty.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കെട്ടവൻ ഇട്ടാൽ ഇട്ടവനും കെടും”
— English Translation:
If a ruined man enters a partnership, the one who joins him will be ruined as well. (Partnering with a chronically bankrupt or ill-fated person drags everyone down.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കൈതമേലുണ്ടാകുന്ന കായിക്കും മുള്ളുണ്ടു”
— English Translation:
Even the fruit that grows on the screw-pine is surrounded by thorns. (Desirable prizes and valuable achievements often come protected by sharp difficulties.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കെട്ടവിളക്കിൽ വെളിച്ചെണ്ണ പകർന്നാൽ കത്തുമൊ”
— English Translation:
If you pour coconut oil into an extinguished lamp, will it flare up without a flame? (Pouring capital or resources into an enterprise is futile unless the spark of initiative and competence is alive.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കൈനെടിയവനു കായലിൽനേട്ടം”
— English Translation:
He who has the longest reach secures the greatest harvest in the backwaters. (Those with superior influence, reach, and resources capture the lion's share of opportunities.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കെട്ടാത്തവനു കെട്ടാത്തതുകൊണ്ടു, കെട്ടിയവനു കെട്ടിയതുകൊണ്ടു”
— English Translation:
Trouble for the bachelor because he is unmarried, and trouble for the married man because he is wed. (Every station in life carries its own unique discontents; the grass is always greener on the other side.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കൈപ്പുണ്ണിനു കണ്ണാടിവേണ്ടാ”
— English Translation:
You do not need a mirror to inspect an ulcer on your own hand. (What is completely obvious, self-evident, and right in plain sight requires no external proof.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കുളം കലക്കി പരുന്നിനു കൊടുക്ക”
— English Translation:
Muddying the pond just to feed fish to the kite. (Creating chaotic ruin in one's own home or institution merely to provide easy pickings for an outside scavenger.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കൂട്ടത്തിൽ പാടാനും വെള്ളത്തിൽ പൂട്ടാനും ആർക്കാ കഴിയാത്തതു”
— English Translation:
Who cannot sing along when in a choir, or plow when the field is already flooded? (Anyone can manage when conditions are effortless and everyone else is carrying the momentum.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കുളിച്ചില്ലെങ്കിലും കോണകം പുരപ്പുറത്തു കിടക്കട്ടെ”
— English Translation:
Even if you haven't bathed, let the loincloth dry on the roof. (Putting up a false front of accomplishment to maintain appearances, even when nothing was actually done.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കൂട്ടിൽ ഇട്ട കിളിയെപ്പോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like a bird trapped inside a cage. (Living in helpless, confined captivity, stripped of freedom.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കുളംകുഴിക്കുമ്പോൾ കുറ്റിവേറെ പൊരിക്കണ്ടാ (പറിക്കണമൊ)”
— English Translation:
When digging an entire pond, must stumps be uprooted separately? (When a massive, thorough overhaul is underway, minor obstacles are cleared naturally in the course of the larger work.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കൂട്ടിൽ ഇട്ട മെരുവിനെപോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like a wild civet cat trapped in a cage. (Pacing restlessly back and forth in frantic agitation and trapped frustration.)

“”
— English Translation:
When going to bathe in the pit dug for bathing, each must step into the pit they dug for themselves. (As you sow, so shall you reap; everyone must face the consequences of the traps and choices they prepared.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കൂനൻ കുലുക്കിയാൽ ഗോപുരം കുലുങ്ങുമൊ”
— English Translation:
Will the grand temple tower shake if a hunchback pushes against it? (The feeble rage of the powerless cannot topple strong, enduring institutions.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കുളിപ്പിച്ചാലും പന്നി ചേറ്റിൽ”
— English Translation:
Even if washed clean, a pig will run straight back to the mire. (A person of base nature inevitably returns to their vulgar habits regardless of grooming or reform.)