Lithuanian Proverbs and Sayings with Meanings
Showing: 20
Time
Everything is good in its own time.
An action's value depends partly on timing. The proverb balances patience with noticing the right opportunity.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 52612; LPP 9743; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LMD - I 700(94) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Bread
To someone hungry, plain bread is bread with honey.
Hunger changes the value of plain food. Honey expresses perceived sweetness, not the loaf's ingredients.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 12950; LPP 353; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR - 4168(119) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Bread
Looking at food will not fill you.
Observation cannot replace action. Eating makes the distinction between wishing, planning and actually taking part concrete.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 61208; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: / LTR - 213(78/364) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Bread
You cannot slice bread with a finger.
A task requires a suitable means. Cutting a slice shows why good intentions or an unsuitable tool are insufficient.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 63977; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR: 2973(8) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Friendship
A neighbour can be closer than a relative.
Closeness means both distance and everyday support. Someone nearby may be able to help sooner than a relative far away.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 25757; LPP 6583; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR: 3379(226) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Friendship
There are people, but no one to count on.
Plural and singular are set against each other: a crowd does not ensure a dependable helper. The saying expresses disappointment in a situation.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 33986; tipo antraštė; atskiro varianto signatūra viešame apraše nepateikta · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Friendship
Friends remain friends while their money stays separate.
Shared money can strain a friendship. The proverb invites clear agreements; it does not prove that friends can never cooperate financially.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 12456; LPP 2707; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR: 6444(259) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Friendship
The well-fed person does not feel for the hungry one.
Different circumstances can obstruct understanding of another person's need. Food can represent a wider gap between comfort and deprivation.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 16756; LPP 360; tipo antraštė; atskiro varianto signatūra viešame apraše nepateikta · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Home
Even a poor shelter is one's own.
One's own shelter carries belonging and independence. The saying values attachment to home without making poor living conditions desirable.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 61269; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR: 70b(1836) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Home
Which home has no dust?
Dust suggests the imperfections and troubles found everywhere. The question can soften harsh judgement of another household.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 83907; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: / LTR: 3477(203) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Home
Leave home for a day; take bread for a week.
Nedėlia here means a week. The exaggerated provisions stress that a journey can take longer than expected.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 17112; LPP 2292; tipo antraštė; atskiro varianto signatūra viešame apraše nepateikta · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Money
Do not go penniless to the tavern or the rectory.
The paired places imply an expectation of payment. It is a sharp social observation about charges and contributions, not a description of present-day religious communities.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 86092; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR - 873(29/5) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Money
For a cent, they would drive a louse all the way to Kaunas.
A tiny louse is treated like livestock driven to market. The exaggeration mocks excessive effort for a trivial gain and extreme stinginess.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 9177; LPP 1804; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR: 210(205/234) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Speech
The person who talks a great deal does little.
Talking and doing are pictured as competitors. The criticism targets empty talk, not conversation or useful deliberation as such.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 26111; LPP 6716; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR: 1315(63) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Speech
Teeth can restrain the tongue, but cannot bring the mind to order.
A physical barrier to speech does not create wisdom. Silence and sound judgement are different achievements.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 10473; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LKŽ: XVII 875 · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Speech
Do not trust a double tongue.
Double tongue means duplicity: saying conflicting things to different people. It does not criticise knowing two languages.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 53823; LPP 10411; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR - 2202(40/3) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Speech
Talk long enough and you may lie without intending to.
Lengthy talk can drift into embellishment or careless claims. The proverb urges precision without making every storyteller suspect.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 26069; LPP 6699; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR: 5895(13) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Time
A day will come, and food for that day will come too.
Tomorrow is imagined bringing its own provision. This hopeful response to anxiety can be compared with sayings that advise preparing supplies.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 15192; LPP 2294; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR: 2202(31/6) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Work
Work is not misery; idleness is not happiness.
The saying challenges the idea that doing nothing equals happiness. Meaningful activity can matter, without making every working condition good.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 10767; LPP 2053; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: LTR: 381(154/10) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
#Friendship
A friend and wine improve with age.
A lasting relationship is compared with matured wine. The value lies in friendship tested over time, not simply a person's age or drinking.
LLTI: Lithuanian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (eLPP), type heading · eLPP 12339; LPP 2681; tipo antraštė; tipo šaltinių nuoroda: TD: II(IX) 177(337) · Traditional folklore text; Lithuanian Copyright Act, Article 5(6).
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