101 inspirational proverbs from around the world

I find proverbs inspirational, and I’ve been collecting some more proverbs from around the world.

I thought readers might find it interesting if I shared some of them.

So here are 101 great proverbs, which I hope will inspire.

Enjoy them all, and feel free to share them with your friends.

Proverbs from around the world (1 – 20):

1. Mewing cats catch no mice. ~Georgian Proverb
2. To begin is easy, to persist is art. ~German Proverb
3. Anger and madness are brothers. ~African Proverb
4. He who is guilty has much to say. ~Ghanaian Proverb
5. Dig the well before you are thirsty. ~Chinese Proverb
6. A man dies when he stops working. ~Hebrew Proverb
7. Nothing seems expensive on credit. ~Czech Proverb
8. Wisdom has long ears and a short tongue. ~Swedish Proverb
9. A man grows most tired while standing still. ~Chinese Proverb
10. Who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure. ~Jewish Proverb
11. A fool cannot undo the knot tied by a wise man. ~African Proverb
12. A good neighbour increases the value if your property. ~Czech Proverb
13. It is in the shelter of each other that the people live. ~Irish Proverb
14. Don’t tell the man who’s carrying you that he stinks. ~African Proverb
15. Everyone wants to live long, but no one wants to be called old. ~Icelandic Proverb
16. Love many, trust few and always paddle your own canoe. ~American Proverb
17. When the character of a man is not clear, look at his friends. ~Japanese Proverb
18. A man profits more by the spectacle of a fool than by the speeches of the wise. ~African Proverb
19. The child who’s not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel the warmth. ~African Proverb
20. The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe, for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood, he was one of them. ~Turkish Proverb

Proverbs from around the world (21 – 40):

21. Need is a bad negotiator. ~Icelandic Proverb
22. Gold, when beaten, shines. ~Peruvian Proverb
23. The bitter heart eats its owner. ~Bantu Proverb
24. A closed mouth catches no flies. ~French Proverb
25. Truth is the first victim of war. ~African Proverb
26. A tree doesn’t fall with one blow. ~Yiddish Proverb
27. Character can be built on daily routine. ~Japanese Proverb
28. Only a fool tests the water with both feet. ~African Proverb
29. A talkative bird will not build a nest. ~West African Proverb
30. The longer the tongue, the shorter the hands. ~Czech Proverb
31. Worries go down better with soup than without. ~Jewish Proverb
32. There is a deep sea between saying and doing. ~Italian Proverb
33. Calm water does not mean there are no crocodiles. ~Indonesian Proverb
34. Persistence can grind an iron beam into a needle. ~Chinese Proverb
35. A mother will understand what her dumb son says. ~Georgian Proverb
36. A diplomat must always think twice before he says nothing. ~Irish Proverb
37. Listen a hundred times; ponder a thousand times; speak once. ~Turkish Proverb
38. Luck sometimes visits a fool, but it never sits down with him. ~German Proverb
39. Rejoice not at thine enemy’s fall, but don’t rush to pick him up either. ~Jewish Proverb
40. A doctor will take care of the rich man; the poor man is cured with work. ~Polish Proverb

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Proverbs from around the world (41 – 60):

41. Blame is a lazy man’s wages. ~Danish Proverb
42. A contented man is always rich. ~Latin Proverb
43. A speaker of truth has no friends. ~African Proverb
44. Silence is a fence around wisdom. ~German Proverb
45. When deeds speak, words are nothing. ~African Proverb
46. Bad is called good when worse happens. ~Norwegian Proverb
47. The mother of idiots is always pregnant. ~Italian Proverb
48. A man who cries all the time is not heard. ~African Proverb
49. The smoother the path the easier it is to slip. ~Estonian Proverb
50. Do not stand in a place of danger trusting in miracles. ~African Proverb
51. Where you sit when you’re old shows where you stood in youth. ~African Proverb
52. No matter the economy of the jungle, the lion will never eat grass. ~African Proverb
53. Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter. ~African Proverb
54. To talk much and arrive nowhere is the same as climbing a tree to catch a fish. ~Chinese Proverb
55. Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time. ~Chinese Proverb
56. The doctor demands his fees whether he has killed the illness or the patient. ~Polish Proverb
57. Educate a man and you educate an individual. Educate a woman and you educate a nation. ~African Proverb
58. The wise man, even when he holds his tongue, says more than the fool when he speaks. ~Yiddish Proverb
59. If men swear that they want to harm you when you’re asleep, you can go to sleep. If a woman says so, stay awake. ~African Proverb
60. He who asks a question is a fool for a minute. He who does not ask a question remains a fool forever. ~Chinese Proverb

Proverbs from around the world (61 – 80):

61. Who gives, has. ~Lithuanian Proverb
62. Advisers run no risks. ~English Proverb
63. Nothing is easy for the unwilling. ~Gaelic Proverb
64. Adversity is the mother of wisdom. ~German Proverb
65. Being happy is better than being king. ~African Proverb
66. When the music changes, so does the dance. ~African Proverb
67. If your face is ugly, you can’t blame the mirror. ~Chinese Proverb
68. He who’s afraid of asking is ashamed of learning. ~Danish Proverb
69. The eyes do not see what the mind does not want. ~Indian Proverb
70. If you don’t want anyone to find out, don’t do it. ~Chinese Proverb
71. Speak the truth but leave immediately afterwards. ~Slovenian Proverb
72. A people without faith in themselves cannot survive. ~Chinese Proverb
73. Be not afraid of going slowly. Be afraid of standing still. ~Japanese Proverb
74. He who conquers his anger has conquered an enemy. ~German Proverb
75. Never promise a poor person, and never owe a rich one. ~Brazilian Proverb
76. Everybody loves a fool, but nobody wants him for a son. ~Ivorian Proverb
77. Every time you laugh a nail is removed from your coffin. ~Honduran Proverb
78. If you tell your secret to your friend, you will make him your master. ~Spanish Proverb
79. If you forgive the fox for stealing your chickens, he will take your sheep. ~Georgian Proverb
80. Honorable is the person who is aware of their power, yet refrains from inflicting harm on others. ~Egyptian Proverb

Proverbs from around the world (81 – 101):

81. Hate has no medicine. ~Ghanaian Proverb
82. A dog with a bone knows no friend. ~Dutch Proverb
83. A blind cat catches only a dead rat. ~Chinese Proverb
84. Day has its eyes, night has its ears. ~Japanese Proverb
85. Pride is the mask of one’s own faults. ~Jewish Proverb
86. He that promises most will perform least. ~Gaelic Proverb
87. A slave does not choose his master. ~Ghanaian Proverb
88. A tailless dog cannot express his joy. ~Albanian Proverb
89. Beloved children have many names. ~Hungarian Proverb
90. Ask for advice then use your head. ~Norwegian Proverb
91. Fear an ignorant man more than a lion. ~Turkish Proverb
92. An idiot is eloquent when he stays silent. ~Japanese Proverb
93. Always tell the truth in the form of a joke. ~Armenian Proverb
94. A dog that barks all the time gets little attention. ~Argentine Proverb
95. Choose your company before you choose your drink. ~Gaelic Proverb
96. Familiarity breeds contempt; distance brings respect. ~African Proverb
97. He who is unkind to his own will not be kind to others. ~Galician Proverb
98. Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty. ~Burmese Proverb
99. Offer the lazy man an egg and he’ll want you to peel it for him. ~Lithuanian Proverb
100. Every closed eye is not sleeping, and every open eye is not seeing. ~African Proverb
101. Even though you know a thousand things, ask the man who knows one. ~Turkish Proverb

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