Yiddish Proverbs

* וואָס לענגער אַ בלינדער לעבט, אַלץ מער זעט ער.
o Vos lenger a blinder lebt, alts mer zet er.
o Translation: The longer a blind man lives, the more he sees.

* אַז מען לעבט, דערלעבט מען
o "Az men lebt, derlebt men."
o Translation: When one lives, one experiences. i.e With life comes experience.

* גאָט האַט באַשאַפן אַ וועלט מיט וועלטעלעך.
o Got hot bashafn a velt mit veltelekh.
o Translation: God created a world full of small worlds.

* קיינער זעט נישט זיין אייגענעם הויקער
o "Keiner zet nisht zayn eigenerm hoyker."
o Translation: No one sees his own hunchback. i.e No one sees his own faults.

* מענטש טראַכט, גאָט לאַכט.
o Mentsch tracht, Gott lacht.
o Translation: Man plans, God laughs.

* And If my grandmother had balls, she'd be my grandfather (used to point out absurd assumptions)
* A dead man is mourned seven days; a fool, his lifetime.
* A fool is his own informer.
* A good friend you get for nothing, an enemy you have to buy.
* A heavy purse makes a light heart.
* A shlemiel lands on his back, and bruises his nose.
* An imaginary ailment is worse than a disease.
* God is an honest payer, but a very slow one.
* God loves the poor and helps the rich.
* God will provide. If only God would provide until He provides!
* Hope may give a man strength, but not sense.
* If I dealt in candles, the sun wouldn't set; if I dealt in shrouds, people would stop dying.
* If the head doesn't work it's bad news for the legs.
* If the rich could hire someone to die for them, the poor would make a wonderful living.
* If you have nothing to lose, you can try anything.
* If you lie on the ground, you can't fall.
* If you seek a reputation for wisdom, agree with everyone.
* It is far easier to spot faults in another than virtues in oneself.
* It is the kindness and not the harshness in the headmaster’s voice that pushes tough boys to cry.
* Life is the cheapest bargain--you get it for nothing.
* Love is blind; jealousy sees too much.
* Love your neighbor, even if he plays the trombone.
* May God protect you from goyisha hands and yiddishe tongues.
* Money is round, so it rolls away.
* No man suffers from another's sins--he has enough of his own.
* Once poor, never rich.
* One good deed has many claimants.
* Rejoice not at your enemy's fall, but don't pick him up, either.
* Some people are like new shoes--the cheaper they are, the louder they squeak!
* Spare us what we can learn to endure.
* The girl who can't dance says the band can't play.
* The heaviest thing in the world is an empty pocket.
* The whole world is a big town.
* Treat me like a rabbi; watch me like a thief.
* Understanding is something we're sure the other fellow hasn't got.
* We have far greater compassion for another's misfortune than our pleasure in another's good fortune.
* What you don't see with your eyes, don't invent with your tongue.
* You can't force anyone to love you or lend you money.
* Your health comes first--you can always hang yourself later.
* Confidence is half of victory.
* God made man because he loves stories.
* A good enemy is better than a bad friend. (Transliteration: Besser a Gutter Soineh Aider a Shlecter Freint.)