ProverbPedia

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാട്ടുകോഴിക്കുണ്ടോ സംക്രാന്തി”
— English Translation:
Does a wild jungle fowl ever observe Sankranti? (Uncivilized, unruly minds have no regard for festive occasions, sacred customs, or social decorum.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാക്ക വഴികാട്ടിയാൽ തീട്ടക്കുഴിയിലെക്കു”
— English Translation:
If a crow serves as your guide, it will lead you straight to the cesspool. (Following a foul, corrupt guide leads inevitably to disgrace and degradation.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാട്ടുകോഴി വീട്ടുകോഴിയാമോ”
— English Translation:
Can a wild jungle fowl ever truly become a domestic hen? (An inherently untamed or rogue disposition cannot be domesticated simply by changing its setting.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാക്കയുടെ കയ്യിലുമുണ്ടു കൽവു”
— English Translation:
Even the common crow possesses its own share of cunning and theft. (Never underestimate the sneaky resourcefulness of even the lowliest creature.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാണം വിറ്റും ഓണം ഉണ്ണണം”
— English Translation:
Feast on Onam even if you must mortgage your ancestral land. (Celebrate core traditions and fulfill essential duties at all costs, regardless of the financial strain.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാക്കെക്കു ചേക്കിടംകൊടുത്താൽ കാലത്താലെ നാശം”
— English Translation:
Offer a crow a roosting perch for the night, and morning brings ruin upon your home. (Sheltering a rogue or opportunistic nuisance in your home invites betrayal and destruction.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാണാതെ കണ്ട കുശത്തി, താൾ എല്ലാം വാരി തുറുത്തി”
— English Translation:
The potter-woman stumbling upon an unexpected bounty stuffed every single wild green into her sack. (Someone unaccustomed to abundance acting with comical, insatiable greed over common trifles.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാക്കവായിലെ അട്ടചാകൂ”
— English Translation:
Only in the beak of a crow does the leech meet its death. (Every bloodsucking parasite eventually encounters a predator suited to destroy it.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാണ്മാൻ കൊള്ളാം, തിന്മാൻ ആകാ”
— English Translation:
Splendid to look upon, but utterly unfit to eat. (Visually dazzling but functionally useless or unpalatable; pleasing to the eye, worthless in practice.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാക്കെക്കും തമ്പിള്ള പൊൻപിള്ള (തൻകുഞ്ഞു പൊൻകുഞ്ഞു)”
— English Translation:
Even to a crow, its own fledgling is made of gold. (Maternal love is blind; every parent considers their own child incomparable and precious.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാണ്മാൻ വന്നവൻ കഴുവേറി”
— English Translation:
The curious bystander who came merely to watch ended up mounted on the executioner's stake. (An innocent onlooker caught in the crossfire and made to bear the ultimate penalty.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാച്ച (കാഞ്ഞ, അനച്ച) വീണ (ചാടിയ) പൂച്ച പച്ചവെള്ളം കണ്ടാലും പേടിക്കും (അറെക്കും)”
— English Translation:
A cat that fell into boiling water recoils even from cold water. (Once bitten, twice shy; severe trauma instills an irrational dread of harmless things.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാണ്മാൻ പോകുന്ന പൂരം പറഞ്ഞുകേൾപ്പിക്കണമോ (കേട്ടറിയണമോ)”
— English Translation:
Does the temple festival you are about to see with your own eyes need to be described to you beforehand? (Why rely on speculative descriptions when you are on the verge of witnessing the reality yourself?)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാഞ്ഞ ഓട്ടിൽ വെള്ളം പകർന്നപോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like splashing cold water onto a red-hot bronze skillet. (Triggering instant, hissing fury; or effort that vanishes immediately into thin air.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാടിക്കഞ്ഞിയും മൂടിക്കുടിക്കെണം”
— English Translation:
Even sour rice gruel should be consumed under cover. (Keep domestic hardships and humble means private; preserve dignity before the outside world.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കാക്കകുളിച്ചാൽ കുയിലാകുമൊ”
— English Translation:
If a crow bathes in the river, will it become a singing cuckoo? (External imitation cannot endow a coarse nature with genuine grace or melody.)