ProverbPedia

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചത്തുപോയ ചിറ്റപ്പനു കാണിക്കാമൊ”
— English Translation:
Can this be shown or offered to an uncle who has already passed away? (Offering help or making amends when the intended recipient is no longer around to receive it.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചങ്ങാതിക്കു നെഞ്ചു തുറക്കണം”
— English Translation:
To a true friend, you must lay bare your heart. (True friendship requires complete honesty, vulnerability, and mutual trust.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചങ്ങാതി നന്നെങ്കിൽ കണ്ണാടി വേണ്ടാ”
— English Translation:
If your friend is true, you do not need a looking-glass. (A good friend serves as an honest mirror, reflecting your character, virtues, and faults without distortion.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചട്ടിയിലെ പന്നിക്കു നായാടെണ്ടാ”
— English Translation:
You do not need to go out hunting for pork that is already inside the pot. (Never waste effort chasing after what has already been secured and is right at hand.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചക്കക്കൂഞ്ഞിലും ചന്ദനക്കുരണ്ടും സമം”
— English Translation:
Treating the fibrous core of a jackfruit and a stump of fragrant sandalwood as equal. (A complete lack of taste and discernment, equating common dross with precious treasure.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചട്ടിയും പാനയുമായാൽ തട്ടിയും മട്ടിയും കിടക്കും”
— English Translation:
When pots and pans share the same shelf, they will inevitably bump and clatter against each other. (Where people live in close proximity, occasional disagreements and friction are inevitable.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചക്കയോളം കൊത്തിയാലെ ഉലക്കയൊളം കാതൽ കിട്ടൂ”
— English Translation:
Only by carving down a log as thick as a jackfruit can you get heartwood the thickness of a pestle. (Great labor and stripping away vast excess are necessary to extract the pure, solid essence.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചട്ടുവമറിയുമോ കറിയുടെ രസം”
— English Translation:
Does the ladle know the rich taste of the curry? (Being constantly immersed in wisdom or greatness without having the capacity to appreciate or comprehend it.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചക്കയിട്ടും നാ കുരച്ചും കിടക്കുകെയുള്ളൂ”
— English Translation:
The jackfruit will drop when ripe, and the dog will simply lie there barking at it. (Natural inevitabilities will occur regardless of the futile noise made by helpless onlookers.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചണ്ടിയും കച്ചറയും”
— English Translation:
Useless weeds and trash. (Absolute rubbish; worthless clutter devoid of value.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചക്കര തിന്നുമ്പോൾ നക്കി, നക്കി, താരം കൊടുക്കുമ്പോൾ മിക്കി, മിക്കി”
— English Translation:
Licking eagerly when eating the jaggery, but squirming and shrinking when handing over the coins. (Eager and quick to consume benefits, but petty, evasive, and reluctant when the time comes to pay the bill.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ചണ്ഡാലൻ തീണ്ടിയ പിണ്ഡം പോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like a sacred ritual rice ball touched by an outcaste. (Something sacred or valuable that has been rendered totally unusable and polluted by improper touch.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോഴി ചിള്ളുംപോലെ തന്റെമുമ്പിൽമാത്രം”
— English Translation:
Like a chicken scratching the soil only immediately in front of itself. (Parochial short-sightedness; caring only for one's immediate selfish perimeter without regard for the wider world.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഗുരുക്കൾക്കു കൊടുക്കുന്നത് അപ്പംതിന്നാൽ പലിശക്കുകൊള്ളുന്നത് പുറത്തു”
— English Translation:
Eating the sweet cake intended for the master results in paying the interest squarely on one's own back. (Defrauding one's teacher or misusing sacred dues brings swift, agonizing retribution upon oneself.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോഴിമുട്ട ഉടെപ്പാൻ കുറുന്തടി വേണമൊ”
— English Translation:
Do you need a heavy club to break a hen’s egg? (Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut; employing wildly excessive force on a fragile, simple matter.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഗുരുക്കൾക്കുള്ളത് ചക്കകൊണ്ടാൽ പലിശക്കുള്ളതു പുറത്ത്”
— English Translation:
If you steal the jackfruit meant for the master, the interest will be extracted squarely from your back. (Defrauding a teacher or sacred authority brings severe physical retribution upon oneself.)