Russian Proverbs Love Life Sayings

Once you have fallen into the water, you're not scared of water any more.

You cannot sew buttons on your neighbor's mouth.

One does not sharpen the axes after the right time; after the time they are needed.

In a deal there are two fools: the one who asks too much and the one who asks too little.

The bear dances but the tamer collects the money.

You do not drink soup with a knife.

Desert and reward seldom keep company.

You cannot make a soft bed for everyone.

Thanks to one small candle the whole of Moscow burns.

If you will not hear reason, she will surely rap your knuckles.

The tallest tree is rooted in the ground.

Look for wind in a field.

Trouble is here, so open the gates.

One son is no son, two sons is no son, but three sons is a son.

Money is only good for a weekday, a holiday, and a rainy day.

It is good to pay with other people's money.

You cannot buy wisdom abroad if there is none at home.

Do not teach a learned person.

Creditors have better memories than debtors.

Having a good wife and rich cabbage soup, seek not other things.

Seven nannies make a one-eyed kid.

One can get sick of cake, but never of bread.

Only he who does nothing makes no mistakes.

For each wise man there are plenty of fools.

Everything is funny as long as it happens to someone else.

Custom is stronger than law.

He took the devil's mat, but he'll pay back with his skin.

After the head is off, one does not cry over the hair.

Trust in God, but mind your own business.

Russian Sayings in English

A good laugh is sunshine in a house.

Love makes the owl seem prettier than a white falcon.

Pray to God but continue to row to the shore.

Clemency is the support of justice.

Rooster today, feather duster tomorrow.

What you plant, that you will harvest.

Seven people don't wait for one.

An empty barrel makes the greatest sound.

Pray to God, but keep rowing to the shore.

Success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan.

The reserve doesn't weight your pocket.

Beware of a quite dog and still water.

Visiting is good, but home is better.

Every vegetable has its time.

Freedom for the free and heaven for the saved.

You may call me even a pot, just don't put me into the oven.

Law is a flag and gold is the wind that makes it wave.

The appetite comes during a meal.

It is easier for the horse when a woman gets off the cart.

Rain falls alike on the just and the unjust.

Success consecrates the foulest crimes.

Beat your own and others will fear you.

If you rely on god, you won't fail.

Fishermen recognize each other from far away.

Small gifts go to places where men expect bigger ones.

Do not carry rubbish out of your hut.

Meanness looks through one eye only, ambition is blind.

Take time to smell the roses.

One sprinkles the most sugar where the tart is burnt.

Seek the brave in prison and the stupid among the clergy.

A bad peace is better than a good quarrel.

Still waters are inhibited by devils.

The wolf will hire himself out very cheaply as a shepherd.

God gives to those who get up early.

Success and rest don't sleep together.

Pray to God, but keep on rowing to the shore.

Keep your ears wider and your mouth narrower.

The cat knows who's meat it has eaten.

Sit a beggar at your table and he will soon put his feet on it.

In the land of hope, there is never any winter.

Who owns the bank owns the fish.

The elbow is near, but try and bite it.

Near is my shirt, but nearer is my skin.

Small choice in rotten apples.

As you brew, so must you drink.

Running away is not glorious, but often very healthy.

Law is like a shaft of a cart, it points wherever you turn it to.

If rubles fell from heaven the poor would have no bag.

As long as a child does not cry, it does not matter what pleases it.

Take care of clothes since they are new, take care of your honor since you are young.

Don't fight with the strong one, don't sue the rich one.

The belly is like a judge that is silent yet still asks questions.

When god will punish, he will first take away the understanding.

A glass for the vodka, for the beer a mug, and for the table, cheerful company.

The fathers ate the cranberries and the children are left with the aftertaste.

Wolf in sheep's clothing.

Small children give you headache; big children give you heartache.

Peace and harmony is great treasure.

Looking at a tree see its fruit; looking at a man see his deeds.

Peace lasts till the army comes, and the army lasts till peace comes.

Something well cared for lasts two centuries.

Tell lies, but become not tangled in lies.

No one knows how the poor man dines.

Eat what is cooked, listen to what is said.

You will reap what you will sow. *

It is bread that keeps one warm, not fur.

Stretch your legs according to your clothes.

An indispensable thing never has much value.

Take the bull by the horns.

There is no law written for fools.

The less you know, the more soundly you sleep.

Russian Love Proverbs

Love has its own language, but marriage falls back on the local dialect.

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Love and eggs are best when they are fresh.

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Love is like a glass that breaks if handled clumsily.

The first snow does not mean winter, nor the first love marriage.

Not all who make love make marriages.

All ages are submissive to love.

There was a time they loved an accordionist, and now the time has come where they love a tractor driver.

Smooth hands love the labor of others.

Everyone loves the tree that gives him shelter.

Those who love you will make you weep; those who hate you will make you laugh.

Mistrust is an axe in the tree of love.

The horse loves oats; the earth, manure; and the governor, tribute.

Russian Proverbs about Life

Life is short, but there's a lot to be done.

Plan your life as though you were going to live forever, but live today as if you were going to die tomorrow.

Living life is not like just crossing a field.

Living life is not like crossing a meadow.

The nights are short for him who married late in life.

Living your life is not like crossing a meadow.

A good citizen owes his life to his country.

A day is long, but a lifetime is short.

Death does not come free of charge, for it costs us our life.

Your dog wishes you a long life.

Death carries on its shoulders a heavy Tsar just as easily as a light beggar.

Death is a giant against whom even the Tsars must draw weapons.

Death answers before it is asked.

Death is not found behind mountains but right behind our shoulders.

Death does not take the old but the ripe.

Old age is not a joy, but death is not a gain.

There is no repentance after death.

Habit is a shirt that we wear till death.

Close to the Tsar, close to death.

Shame is worse than death.

Fighting for your country glorifies death.

Only death will cure the hunchback.

When death is there, dying is over.

Eternal peace lasts only until the next war.

Laws are silent in time of war.

Eternal peace lasts until the next war.

Make peace with man and war with your sins.

Even one person in the field is a warrior, if he is a soviet warrior.

Single in a field is not a warrior.

For some people war is war, for others - dear mother.

One man in a field is not a warrior.

If you go to war pray once; if you go on a sea journey pray twice; but pray three times when you are going to be married.

Friendship is one thing and tobacco is another.

Friendship is friendship, but keep our tobacco apart.

A mile walk with a friend has only one hundred steps.

A thousand friends are few; one enemy is too many.

Know friend when trouble.

One who seeks no friends is his own enemy.

To keep a new friend, never break with the old.

An enemy will agree, but a friend will argue.

Make a friend of the wolf, but keep your axe ready.

An old friend is better than two new ones.

I need not fear my enemies because the most they can do is attack me. I need not fear my friends because the most they can do is betray me. But I have much to fear from people who are indifferent.

Tell me who your friends are and i'll tell you who you are.

You get to really know your friend when trouble comes.

One does not regret giving one's own ear-ring to one's dear friend.

Ice in spring is treacherous; new friendships are seldom sure.

The lucky man's enemy dies, and the unlucky man's friend.

If you don't have a hundred rubles, make sure you have a hundred friends.

One road for the fugitive and a hundred for the pursuer.

You can't drive straight on a twisting lane.

The coat is quite new, only the holes are old.

Crows are black the world over.

One good daughter is worth seven sons.

If the collective farm is wealthy, the farmer is happy.

Many people who have gold in the house are looking for copper outside.

There will be trouble if the cobbler starts making pies.

For a poor man, to prepare for a trip means belt himself.

The dog learns to swim when the water reaches his ears.

One would like to eat honey, but would not like to get stung.

However much you steal from your state, all the same you won't get your own back.

If you do not strike back at him who hits you, there is no way for him to find out whether you also have hands.

No one is dragged to heaven by the hair.

No family has no ugly member.

The past is for God, the future for the Tsars.

You can not write in the chimney with charcoal.

A man should not be struck when he is down.

Time makes the best healer.

Old age is not a blessing.

Even an eagle will not fly higher than the sun.

The morning is wiser than the evening.

Every day is a messenger of God.

If you flatter the mother, you will embrace the daughter.

The same hammer that breaks the glass forges the steel.

Overseas, a cow a quarter of kopeck, but a rouble to ship.

A wise companion is half the journey.

The night's too short to warrant marrying poor.

After a storm fair weather, after sorrow joy.

Together, it's cramped; apart, it's boring.

Good brotherhood is the best wealth.

One does not look for good when he is well.

The wife is twice precious only; when led into the house, and when taken out.

No money is taken for just looking at somebody or something.

Fear has large eyes.

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes.