If you’re going to eat pork, eat the best kind (Ez men est khazer zol rinen ariber der bord.)
Also translated as, if you’re going to eat pork, get it all over your beard.
That which is practiced in youth will be pursued in old age. (Tsu vos men iz gevoynt in der yugnt, azoy tut men oyf der elter.) One of our favorites!
Man plans and God laughs. (Mann tracht und Gott lacht) New! One of our favorites!
A man is not honest simply because he never had a chance to steal New! One of our favorites!
It never rose and it never flew (Es iz nit geshtoygen un nit gefloygen) New! One of our favorites!
Figurative translation: It is bullshit!
The girl who can’t dance says the band can’t play. (Az di ken nit tantsen, zogt zi az di klezmorim kenen nit shpilen.) One of our favorites!
If you want your dreams to come true, don’t sleep. One of our favorites!
Troubles are easier to take with soup than without. One of our favorites!
When a fool is silent, he too is counted among the wise. (Az a nar shvaygt, veyst men nit tsi er iz a nar oder a khokhem) One of our favorites!
A schlemiel is a waiter who spills hot soup, and the schlimazel is the one who gets it in his lap. One of our favorites!
Surrounding yourself with dwarfs does not make you a giant
Tsuris (trouble) is what you get from children. Naches (joy) is what you get from grandchildren
A strange fool is laughable, but your own fool is shameful. (A fremder nar iz a gelekhter, an eygener a shande.)
A snake deserves no pity.
A fault-finder complains even that the bride is too pretty.
A man is not old until his regrets take the place of his dreams.
A meowing cat can’t catching mice. (A katz vos m’yavket ken kain meiz nit chapen)
One who has the reputation of an early riser may safely lie in bed until noon.
If you don’t want to get old, hang yourslef when you’re young (Az me vil nit vern alt, zol men zikh yingerheyt oyfhengern.) New!
Just because you can talk, it doesn’t mean you’re making sense
If a man is destined to drown, he will drown even in a spoonful of water.
If you spit upwards, you’re bound to get it back in the face.
If rich people could hire other people to die for them, the poor could make a wonderful living
He owes him the hole in the bagel (Er iz im shuldik di lokh fun beygl)
So the Messiah will be born a day later (Vet moshiakh geboyrn vern mit a tog shpeter)
A sick man you ask, a well man you give (A kranken fregtman, a gezunten gitman)
Petty thieves are hanged, major ones go free
Youth is a mistake, middle age a battle, and old age a regret (Di yugnt iz a feler, di menlekhe yorn a kamf, un der elter a kharote.)
If you have money, you are wise and good-looking and can sing well, too.
A saintly man who knows he is a saintly man is not a saintly man (A tsadik vos veyst az er iz a tsadik is keyn tsadik nit.)
If you don’t want to do something, one excuse is as good as another.
Don’t spit in the well, you might drink from it later
All brides are beautiful–all the dead are pious (Ale kales zenen sheyn–ale meysim zenen frum)
He who marries for money earns it.
Lying in the ground, baking bagels (Lign in drerd un bakn beygl) New!
Sisyphus-like hell, spending eternity making bagels you can’t eat
When a thief kisses you, count your teeth.
You can’t chew with someone else’s teeth
Go threaten geese (Gey strashe di gens)
Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven
The soldiers fight, and the kings are heroes
When you’re too smart, you ruin yourself (Az m’is tsu klug, light men in drerd.)
The truth can walk around naked–the lie has to be clothed. (Der emes ken arumgeyn a naketer–dem lign darf men bakleydn.)
To look like a rooster after the hens have been trod (Oyszen vi a hon nokj tashmish)
Better not to live than to become dependent on children (Beser oyf der velt nit tsu lebn, eyder onkumen tsu kinder.)
It won’t hurt in arranging a marriage (Es ver nit shaten tsum shidekh)
Where are you climbing with your crooked feet? (Vu krikhst du mit dayn krume fis?)
Don’t eat the challah before you’ve made the blessing (Es nisht di khale far a-moytse) New!
Don’t have sex before marriage
Ask advice from everyone, but act your own mind.
Many complain of their looks, but none of their brains.
If you don’t eat garlic, you won’t smell bad (Az men est nisht kayn knobl, shtinkt men nit)
The best baker among the cobblers is Yankele the tailor New!
One should not send a cat to deliver cream
You don’t mean the hagode, but the dumplings (Me meynt nit di hagode, nor di kneydlekh)
The nearer to the synagogue, the farther from God.
Better to be a wise person in Hell than a fool in paradise (Beser mit a klugn in gehenem eyder mit a nar in ganeydn)
Don’t hit me and don’t lick me (Shlog mikh nit, un lek mikh nit)
If you and all your neighbors lay all of your problems on your respective front lawns, you’d look them all over, and end up taking back your own. New!
A rich man has no need of character
The whole word is one town (Die ganzer veld is ein stat)
God created a world full of little worlds
Many songs, but few dumplings (A sakh zmires, un veynik kneydlekh.)
Three things can’t be hidden: love, coughing, and poverty. (Dray zakhen ken men nit bahalten: libe, hisen un dales)
A fool remains a fool (A nar blaybt a nar)
A crowd of people, and not one real person among them (A groyse oylem, un nito eyn mentsch)
If things are not as you wish, wish them as they are.
For a little love, you pay all your life (Far a bisel libe batsolt men miten gantsen leben)
Time and words can’t be recalled, even if it was only yesterday.
When you look to the heights, hold on to your hat (Az du kukst oif hoichen zachen halt tsu dos hitl)
Life is the greatest bargain – we get it for nothing.
A jest is half a truth.
One fool can ask more than ten smart men can answer. (Eyn nar ken mer fregn eyder tsen kluge kenen entfern.)
When something’s burning, there’s a fire. (Az es brent, is a fayer)
Too smart outsmarts itself
To make promises and to love don’t cost any money (Tsuzogn un lib hoben kostn kayn gelt nisht)
A fool grows without rain (A nar vakhst on regn)
You should lose all your teeth except one, and that one should ache! (Zolst farlirn ale tseyner akhuts eynem, un der zol dir vey ton) New!
Too humble is half proud.
The greatest folly of the fool is that he thinks he is smart (Di greste narishkayt fun a nar iz az er meynt az er is klug.)
If there’s a bitterness in the heart, sugar in the mouth won’t make life sweeter (Az in harsn iz biter, helft nit in moyl arayn tsuker)
Friendship is stronger than kinship (Khavershaft iz shtarker vi brudershaft)
It’s astonishing how important a man becomes when he dies.
Money buys everything but good sense.
Don’t know me a teakettle (Hak mir nisht ken tshaynik)
Stop going on and on about the same one thing all the time.
When it comes to one’s own children, everyone is blind. (Oyf eygene kinder iz yederer a blinder.)
When a lion is sleeping, let him sleep (Az a leyb shloft, loz im shlofn.)
God gave burdens, also shoulders.
Tasty is the fish on someone else’s table (Geshmak iz der fish fun yenems tish)
We grow accustomed to our troubles. (Me vert tsugevoynt tsu di tsores.)
He is smart whose good luck accompanies him (Der iz klug vemes mazl geyt im nokh)
God made man because he loves stories.
From envy grows hate. (Fun kine vert sine.)
It’s as appropriate as a slap in response to a greeting of “good shabbas” (Es past zikh vi a patsh tsu gut shabes.)
From bad matches, come good children (Fun krume shidukhim kumen aroys glaykhe kinder.)
When one always drinks vinegar, he doesn’t know that anything sweeter exists. (Az men trinkt ale mol esik, veyst men nit az es iz do a zisere zakh.)
What afool can spoil, ten wise men cannot repair (Vos a nar ken kalye makhn, kenen tsen khakhomin nit farrikhtn.)
Gold’s father is dirt, yet it regards itself as noble
They bury better-looking ones (Shenere leygt men in drerd)
Love is sweet, but it’s good with bread (Di libe iz zis nor zi iz gut mit broyt.)
No one possesses all the virtues (Ale mayles in eynem, iz mito bay keynem.)
A table is not blessed if it has fed no scholars.
The best horse needs a whipe, the wisest man advice, and the chastest woman a man. (Der bester ferd darf hoben a baytsh, der klugster man an eytse, un di frumste mekeyve a man.)
The wagon rests in winter, the sleigh in summer, the horse never.
Better to lose with a wise man than to win with a fool. (Beser mit a klugn tsu farlirn, eyder mit a nar tsu gevinen)
You’re climbing on the straight wall (Ikh zol azoy visn fun tsores)
He who is aware of his foolishness is a wise person (Der vos farshteyt zayn narishkayt iz a kluger mensch.)
Trying to outsmart everybody is the greatest folly.
Beware of your friends, not your enemies (Hit zikh far di fraynd, nit far di faynt.)
Charm is better than beauty (Kheyn geyt iber sheyn)
If you want to know what God thinks of money, look at the people he gives it to.
If God wants people to suffer, he sends them too much understanding
A half truth is a whole lie.
One even gets tired of eating only dumplings (Kreplakh esn vert oykh nimes)
A homely girl hates the mirror (A meeseh moyd hot faynt dem shpigl)
You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar (Me ken khapn mer flign mit honik vi mit esik)
From an old maid, you get a faithful wife (Fun an alte moid vert a getraye vayb)
Show a dog a finger, and he wants the whole hand
Look down, and you’ll know how high up you are (Kuk arop, vest du visn vi hoykh du shteyst.)
Better a good enemy than a bad friend (Beser a guter soyne eyder a shlekhter fraynd.)
He should grow like an onion with its head in the ground (Er zol vaksn vi a tsibele mit dem kop in drerd)
Troubles with soup is easier than troubles without soup (Tsores mit yoykh iz gringer vi tsores on yoykh)
Bygone troubles are good to tell
He who comes for the inheritance is often made to pay for the funeral
He who praises himself will be humiliated.
The wicker person fares well in this world, the saint in the life to come. (Dem roshe geyt gut ofy der velt, dem tsadik oyf yener velt.)
Truth is the safest lie. (Der emes iz der bester lign)
You can’t make cheesecakes out of snow (Mit shney ken men nit makhn gomolkhes)
A story without a moral is like a meal without a sweet-favored side dish (A mayse on a moshl iz vi a moltsayt on a tsimes)
No one is as deaf as they one who will not listen (Keyner iz nit azoy toyb vi der vos vil mit hern.)
They are making a big deal out of this. (Me makht a gants yontef derfun.)
I need it like a hole in the head (Ikh darf es vi a lokh in kop)
From a fool one has grief. (Fun a nar hot men tsar.)
Measure the corn of others with your own bushel
Better a crooked foot than a crooked mind (Beser a krumer fus eyder a krumer kop)
The reddest apple has a worm in it.
What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t invent with your mouth
The cholera on you! (A kholyere oyf dir!)
Thieves and those in love both love darkness (Ganovim un farlibte hobn lib fintsternish)
Ask about your neighbors, then buy the house
At a distance you fool others, close at hand just yourself (Fun vaytn nart men laytn, fun neont zikh aleyn)
It is not good to be alone, even in Paradise
Don’t live in a town where there are no doctors
Only fools rely on miracles (Nor naronim farlozn zikh oyf nisim)
Cheap as borsht (Bilig vi borsht)
If you can’t endure the bad, you won’t live to see the good.
If the fool didn’t belong to me, I’d be laughint too (Ven der nar volt nit geven mayner, volt ich oykh gelakht.)
A man should live if only to satisfy his curiosity.
May a strange death befall you! (A mise meshune oyf dir!)
He who is no good to himself is not good to another. (Ver es toyg nit far zikh, toyg nit far yenem.)
He falsifies who renders a verse just as it looks
A bad peace is better than a good war (A shlekhter sholem iz beser vi a guter krig)
You could live, but they don’t let you. (Meh ken leben nor men lost nit.)
If a girl has no other virtues, even a freckle can be considered one. (Az es zenen nito keyn andere mayles, iz a zumer-shprinkele oykh a mayle)
Don’t do business with a fool (Mit a nar tor men nit handlen.)
Better barley soup at home than a roast at someone else’s home (Beser bay zikh krupnik, eyder bay yenem gebrotns.)
On a beautiful person, it’s good to look, with a smart person it’s good to live. (Of a shaynem iz gut tsu kukn, mit z klugn iz gut tsu lebn)
Lose an hour in the morning, chase it all day
It’s as appropriate as a big (Es past vi a khazer.)
Sometimes even a fool can say a smart word (A nar ken a mol zoygn a klug vort)
The truly rich are those who enjoy what they have.
Do not worry about tomorrow, because you do not even know what may happen to you today.
We are all schlemiels.
Talk less, do more
Charity covers a multitude of sins.
The complete fool is half prophet.
A dog without teeth will also attack a bone.
There’s plenty of time to bemoan bad fortune once it arrives
Your pot broken seems better than my whole one.
Don’t throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one holds water.
He who puts up with insult invites injury.
Death is the only certainty
A rich man who is stingy is the worst pauper.
Sleep faster, we need the pillows.
If one man calls you a donkey, ignore him. If two men call you a donkey, think about it. If three men call you a donkey, buy a saddle
Your neighbor’s apples are the sweetest.
Talking comes by nature, silence by wisdom.
Don’t rub your belly when the little fish is still in the pond.
Flattery makes friends and truth makes enemies.
The whole world is one town
Not everyone who sits in the seat of honor is master.
Talk too much and you talk about yourself.
Love tastes sweet, but only with bread.
When fortune calls, offer her a chair.
Times is the best healer
He that can’t endure the bad, will not live to see the good.
Money doesn’t grow on trees.
God created a world full of little worlds.
Every seller praises his wares.
One person enjoys a piece of hard cheese, a second a spun out prayer chant, and a third a door to the street.
With time, even a bear can learn to dance.
Worries go down better with soup.
Gold’s father is dirt, yet it regards itself as noble.
Trouble is to man what rust is to iron.
Charge nothing and you’ll get a lot of customers.
The glaciers didn’t freeze overnight.
Silence is also speech.
Make no more haste than good speed.
You buy yourself an enemy when you lend a man money.
Truth never dies, but lives a wretched life.
Golden dishes will never turn black.
The sun will set without your help
Words show the wit of a man, but actions his meaning.
Had you gotten up early, you wouldn’t have needed to stay up late.
Golden dreams make men wake hungry.
What one has, one doesn’t want–what one wants one doesn’t have
If we did not flatter ourselves, nobody else could.
Charity and pride have different aims, yet both feed the poor.
What is cheap, is dear
Prayers go up and blessings come down.
He that cannot ask cannot live.
Seek advice but use your own common sense.
When the light is crooked, the shadow is crooked.
A wise man hears one word and understands two.
What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.
If grandma had wheels, she’d be a wagon
If you render a verse just as it looks, you are falsifying it.
A liar should have a good memory
Protest long enough that you are right, and you will be wrong.
A penny is a lot of money–if you haven’t got a penny.
The entire world rests on the tip of the tongue.
He that cannot obey cannot command.
Tomorrow your horse may be lame.
To every answer you can find a new question.
A child’s tear rends the heavens.
None so deaf as those who will not hear
The wheel turns round
A man comes from the dust and in the dust he will end–and in the meantime it is good to drink a sip of vodka.
When the light is crooked, the shadow is crooked
The schlemiel lands on his back and bruises his nose.
What you save is, later, like something found.
If a link is broken, the whole chain breaks.
A golden key will open every lock.
Make sure to send a lazy man for the Angel of Death.
If God were living on earth, people would break his windows.
If we all pulled in one direction, the world would keel over.
When you have no linen, you save the laundry bill
Your health comes first–you can always hang yourself later.
When it falls, it falls butter side down
If you ever need a helping hand you’ll find one at the end of your arm.
Worries go better with soup than without.
A man cannot jump over his own shadow.
One fool makes many fools
All signs are misleading.
A chip on the shoulder indicates wood higher up.
You can throw a cat whoever you want, it always falls on its feet.
If each one sweeps before his own door, the whole street is clean.
Flattery sits in the parlour when plain dealing is kicked out of doors.
A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.
Send a fool to the market and a fool he will return.
Dear God: You do such wonderful things for complete strangers–why not for me?
Send a fool to close the shutters and he’ll close them all over town.
A joke driven too far brings home hate.
It’s not that having money is so good, it’s that not having it is so bad
Don’t throw a stone into a well from which you have drunk.
A penny is sometimes better spent than spared.
Your friend has a friend, and your friend’s friend has a friend–be discreet
Better ask ten times than go astray once.
One good forewit is worth two afterwits.
Show her the rudder, but don’t steer her boat.
Hell shared with a sage is better than paradise with a fool.
Fleas are not lobsters.
You can’t measure the whole world with your own yardstick.
Nerve succeeds!
Provide for the worst–the best can take care of itself.
Everything happens for the better—but there are exceptions
No one is deaf to praise
Seek and you will find.
The wise man, even when he holds his tongue, says more than the fool when he speaks.
When luck joins in the game, cleverness scores double.
When a man who has been previously married marries a woman who has been previously married, four people go to bed.
Interest on debts grow without rain.
The soldiers fight, and the kings are heroes.
Parents can give everything but common sense.
If they give you, take: if they take from you, yell!
A rich mouthful, a heavy groan.
After nine months the secret comes out.
If all pulled in one direction, the world would keel over.
Don’t approach a goat from the front, a horse from the back, or a fool from any side.
To every answer you can find a new question
One good deed has many claimants.
A fool says what he knows, and a wise man knows what he says.
Weeping makes the heart grow lighter.
Make new friends, but don’t forget the old ones.
In life, each of us must sometimes play the fool
When you grease palms, you ride
Words should be weighed, not counted.
A fool is his own informer.
When one must, one can.
Beware of still water, a still dog, and a still enemy.
A rich man’s foolish sayings pass for wise ones.
If you have nothing to lose, you can try everything.
When you fight, do it in a manner that will allow you to make up (Az du krigst zikh, krig zikh az du zolst zikh kenen iberbetn)
You can’t dance at two weddings at the same time, nor can you sit on two horses with one behind.
For dying, you always have time.
