ProverbPedia

“Malayalam Proverb:
നാളെനാളെതിനീളേതി നീളെനീളെപുന:പുന:”
— English Translation:
"Tomorrow, tomorrow," postponing endlessly, stretching farther and farther again. (Chronic, self-defeating procrastination that continually defers action into an ever-receding horizon.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നായ്ക്കോലം കെട്ടിയാൽപിന്നെ കരക്കെല്ലുള്ളു”
— English Translation:
Once you put on the guise of a dog, you have no choice but to bark. (Once you voluntarily accept a role, station, or costume, you must play the part and bear its humiliations without complaint.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നാളെനാളെ നീളെനീളെ”
— English Translation:
Saying "tomorrow, tomorrow" only prolongs the delay. (Postponing obligations never resolves them; procrastination only extends anxiety and trouble.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നായ്ക്കണ (ഞാങ്ങണ) എങ്കിലും നാലുകൂട്ടികെട്ടിയാൽ ബലംതന്നെ”
— English Translation:
Even if they are only hollow river reeds, bundling four together yields genuine strength. (Unity is strength; even frail, modest elements become resilient when bound together in solidarity.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നാഴി ആഴിയിൽമുക്കിയാലും നാഴി നാഴിതന്നെ”
— English Translation:
Even if you plunge a small measuring cup into the vast ocean, it can bring back only its own measure. (A person's inner capacity dictates what they can absorb; boundless opportunity cannot benefit someone beyond their natural limits.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നാരും കോലും ഉണ്ടെങ്കിൽ ആകാശത്തോളം വെച്ചുകെട്ടരുതൊ”
— English Translation:
With fiber rope and poles at hand, can't one erect scaffolding all the way to the heavens? (Boasting of monumental feats using only basic makeshift props; or expressing boundless ambition once fundamental tools are secured.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നീട്ടിയോന്റെതലക്കു വടി”
— English Translation:
The stick strikes the head of the one who stretched his neck out. (He who intrudes into other people's affairs or sticks his neck out recklessly takes the brunt of the punishment.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നാരദനെപോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like the sage Narada. (A meddling wanderer who carries tales between opposing sides to stir up mischief and conflict.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നാഴിപ്പൊന്നുകൊടുത്താലും മൂളിപ്പെണ്ണു എനിക്കുവേണാ”
— English Translation:
Even if accompanied by a measure of gold, I want no woman who only grunts and mumbles. (Material wealth cannot compensate for a sullen, sour, and uncommunicative partner.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നാട്ടാൽപാതി കോട്ടായി ഇല്ലാ”
— English Translation:
If properly planted, half the loss is averted. (Careful, timely foundation work eliminates the majority of operational risks.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നായിനെകാണുമ്പോൾ കല്ലുകാണുകയില്ല, കല്ലുകാണുമ്പോൾ നായിനെ കാണുകയില്ല”
— English Translation:
When you spot the dog there is no stone at hand, and when you find a stone the dog is nowhere to be seen. (Resources and opportunities rarely align; means and targets never seem to coincide at the right moment.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നാണിക്കുണ്ടൊ വിദ്യയുണ്ടാവു”
— English Translation:
Can a bashful, timid person ever acquire mastery in learning? (Knowledge demands active inquiry and bold questioning; excessive shyness obstructs education.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നായിപത്തുപെറ്റിട്ടുംഫലമില്ല, പശു ഒന്നുപോറ്റാലുംമതി”
— English Translation:
No good comes from a dog whelping ten pups, while rearing a single calf is a lasting blessing. (Quality far outweighs quantity; a single noble, productive asset is worth far more than a multitude of worthless ones.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നാണമില്ലാത്തവന്റെ ആസനത്തിലൊരാലു കിളുത്താൽ അതുമൊരുതണലു”
— English Translation:
If a banyan tree sprouts from a shameless man's rear, he merely rejoices in the shade. (A thoroughly shameless person is so stripped of dignity that he twists even humiliating public disgrace into a boast.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
നായുടെവാൽ കുഴലിലിട്ടാൽ നിവരുമൊ”
— English Translation:
If you slide a dog's tail into an iron tube, will it ever straighten out? (What is crooked by nature can never be reformed; inherent flaws and stubborn vices resist all straightening.)

“”
— English Translation:
A shameless person cannot be made into a monstrous spectacle (he is already shameless). (A person completely dead to public opinion cannot be intimidated or disgraced by outward theater.)