ProverbPedia

“Malayalam Proverb:
നൊന്തകണ്ണീലെ കുന്തം ചാടു”
— English Translation:
The spear always strikes the hurting eye. (Misfortune always lands where one is already vulnerable; adding injury to an existing wound.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
പക്ഷിക്കാകാശം ബലം, മത്സ്യത്തിനു വെള്ളം ബലം”
— English Translation:
The sky is the bird's strength, and water is the fish's strength. (Every creature or individual flourishes and wields true power only within their own natural element.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നൊന്തവൻ അന്തംപറയും”
— English Translation:
He who is hurting will cry out in desperation. (A person in severe agony or facing grave injustice speaks plainly and without restraint, casting aside social decorum.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
പക്ഷിയെ പിടിക്കാൻ മരം മുറിക്കുമ്പോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like felling an entire tree just to catch a perching bird. (Wildly disproportionate, self-defeating methods; destroying a valuable asset to secure an elusive, petty prize.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നെല്പൊതിയിൽപുക്ക മൂഷികനെപോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like a mouse that has burrowed inside a tightly bundled bale of grain. (Living in hidden, boundless abundance, gorging in secret luxury away from outside scrutiny.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നീർനിന്നെടത്തോളം ചളി (ചേർ) കെട്ടും”
— English Translation:
Wherever water stands stagnant, mud and slime will accumulate. (Inactivity and unresolved stagnation breed festering grievances, corruption, and rot.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നെല്ലരികൊടുത്തു പുല്ലരികിട്ടിയതു നമ്മുടെ കാലദോഷം”
— English Translation:
Parting with prime rice grain only to receive wild grass seed in return is our sheer misfortune. (An unlucky transaction where valuable capital or virtuous effort is repaid with worthless dross due to adverse times.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നീറാലിയിൽ ആറുകാൽ ആകാ”
— English Translation:
A six-legged beetle cannot be tolerated upon a fine silk canopy. (A single vile flaw, pest, or parasite ruins what is delicate, precious, and refined.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നെല്ലറ പൊന്നറ”
— English Translation:
A granary filled with paddy is a chamber of gold. (Food security, fertile harvest, and agricultural self-sufficiency are the truest and most dependable forms of wealth.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നീറ്റിൽ അടിച്ചാൽ കോലെമുറിയും”
— English Translation:
If you strike the water, only your stick will break. (Wasting aggressive force against yielding, boundless elements only damages your own instruments.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നെല്ലിൽ തുരുമ്പില്ലെന്നും പണത്തിൽ കള്ളൻഇല്ലെന്നും വരുമോ”
— English Translation:
Can there ever be grain without chaff, or wealth without a thief hovering near? (Every worldly asset has its natural flaws, and material prosperity inevitably attracts predators.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നുണക്കാതെ ഇറക്കികൂടാ, ഇണങ്ങാതെ പിണങ്ങിക്കൂടാ”
— English Translation:
You cannot swallow food without tasting and chewing it, nor should you quarrel with someone before having lived in harmony. (Thorough familiarity and shared experience must precede judgment; do not jump into enmity without true understanding.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നെല്ല പൊലുവിനു കൊടുത്തെടത്തുനിന്നു അരി വായ്പവാങ്ങല്ല”
— English Translation:
Do not borrow husked rice from the very house where you once bestowed grain as a harvest bounty. (Never demean yourself by begging for loans from former dependents or households where you once acted as a generous benefactor.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നുള്ളിഎടുക്കുന്നെടത്തു കുഴി, നുള്ളിവെക്കുന്നെടത്തു കുന്നു”
— English Translation:
Where you pinch away a pit forms, and where you heap pinches a mound rises. (Continual small drains lead to bankruptcy, while steady, modest savings accumulate into a mountain of wealth.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നേടി ഉണ്മാൻപോയ കൂത്തിച്ചി കണ്ണാടിവിറ്റു”
— English Translation:
The dancing girl who set out to make a fortune ended up having to sell her looking-glass. (Venturing out to earn great wealth, only to lose one's primary working asset; a ruinous business failure.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നുര വാരിപ്പിടിച്ചപോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like trying to scoop up sea foam in your hands. (Chasing after fleeting, hollow prizes that dissolve into nothingness the moment you grasp them.)