Ireland

Is é an duine an t-éadach.
The person is the clothes. [clothing makes the man]

Is minic cuma aingeal ar an Diabhal féin.
There is often the look of an angel on the Devil himself.

Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile.
A beetle recognizes another beetle. [it takes one to know one]

Is glas iad na cnoc i bhfad uainn.
Distant hills look green.

Cuir síoda ar ghabhar agus is gabhar i gcónaí é.
Put silk on a goat and it is still a goat.

Bíonn gach duine go lách go dtéann bó ina gharraí.
Everybody is good natured until a cow goes into his garden.

Ní fearr bia ná ciall.
Food is not better than sense.

Ní thagann ciall roimh aois.
Sense does not come before age.

Is déirce dá chuid féin don amadán.
His own share is charity to the fool.

Is deacair a bheith ag feadaíl agus ag ithe mine.
It is hard to whistle and eat at the same time.

Más cam nó díreach an ród, ’s é an bothar mór an t-aicearra.
Whether the road is crooked or straight, the short cut is the best way.

Is trom an rud cearc i bhfad.
A hen [carried] far is a heavy thing.

Ní hiad na fir mhóra a bhaineas an fomhar i gcónaí.
It is not the great men that always reap the harvest.

Mol an lá um thránóna.
Praise the day in the evening. [don't count your chickens before they're hatched]

Seachnaíonn súil ní nach bhfeiceann.
An eye evades a thing it does not see.

Is doimhin é poll an amhrais.
Deep is the hole of doubt.

Is fearr rith maith ná droch-sheasamh.
A good run(ning) is better than a bad stand(ing).

Is teann gach madra gearr i ndoras a thí féin.
Every terrier is bold in the door of its house.

Glaonn gach coileach go dána ar a atrainn fhéin.
Every cock crows boldly in his own farmyard.

Is fearr filleadh as lár an áthe ná bá sa tuile.
Better to back out of the middle of the ford than be drowned in the flood.

Bíonn caora dhubh ar an tréad is gile.
There tends to be a black sheep (even) in the whitest flock.

Ní bhíonn saoi gan locht.
There is no wise man without fault.

Aithnítear cara i gcruatán.
A friend is known in hardship. [in hard times you know who your friends are]

Ní thuigeann an seach an seang.
The well-fed does not understand the hungry.

Níor chuaigh fial riamh go hIfreann.
No generous person ever went to Hell.

Bíonn blás ar an mbeagán.
Little things tend to be tasty.

Ní dhéanfadh an domhan capall rása d’asal.
The world would not make a race horse out of a donkey

Trí ní is deacair a thuiscint; intleacht na mban, obair na mbeach, teacht agus imeacht na taoide.
Three things hardest to understand; the intellect of women, the work of the bees, the coming and going
of the tide.

Na ceithre rud is measa amú; ceann tinn, béal seirbh, intinn bhuartha, agus poca folamh.
The four least useful things; a headache, a bitter mouth, a worried mind, and an empty pocket.

Dá fhada an lá tagann an tráthnóna.
However long the day, the evening will come.

Is iomaí fear fada a bhíonns lag ina lár.
Many a tall man has a weak middle.

Is fearr greim de choinín ná dhá ghreim de chat.
One bite of a rabbit is better than two bites of a cat.

Filleann an feall ar an bhfeallaire.
The treachery returns to the betrayer.

Is í an dias is troime is ísle a chromas a cheann.
The heaviest ear of grain bends its head the lowest. [the wisest are the most humble]

Is minic a chealg briathra míne cailín críonna.
Many a prudent girl was led astray with honeyed words.

Is minic a bhíonn ciúin ciontach.
The quiet one is often guilty.

Is minic a bhris beál duine a shrón.
It is often that a person’s mouth broke his nose.

Is minic a ghearr teanga duine a scornach.
It is often that a person’s tongue cut his throat.

Ní scéal rúin é ó tá a fhios ag triúr é.
It is not a secret after three people know it.

An áit a mbíonn mná bíonn caint agus an áit a mbíonn géanna bíonn callán.
Where there are women there is talk, and where there are geese there is cackling.

Ná bíodh do theanga faoi do chrios.
Don’t keep your tongue under your belt.

Beagán a rá agus é a rá go maith.
Say little but say it well.

An té is mó a osclaíonn a bhéal is é is lú a osclaíonn a sparán.
The one who opens his mouth the most, ’tis he who opens his purse the least.

Mórán cainte ar bheagán cúise.
Much talk with little reason.

Is binn béal ina thost.
A silent mouth is sweet.

Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh siad.
Praise the youth and they will come.

Is cuma leis an óige cá leagann sí a cos.
Youth does not care where it sets its foot.

Is minic a rinne bromach gioblach capall cumasach.
A ragged colt often made a powerful horse.

Téann an saol thart mar bheadh eiteoga air agus cuireann gach aon Nollaig bliain eile
ar do ghualainn.
Life goes by as if it had wings, and every Christmas puts another year on your shoulder.

Fiche bliain ag teacht,
Fiche bliain go maith,
Fiche bliain ag meath, is
Fiche bliain gan rath.
Twenty years coming,
Twenty years good,
Twenty years declining, and
Twenty years useless.

Lia gach boicht bás.
Death is every poor man’s physician.

Luigh leis an uan, agus éirigh leis an éan.
Lie with the lamb, and rise with the bird.

Molann an obair an fear.
The work praises the man.

Ní chaitheann an chaint an t-éadach.
(The) talk doesn’t wear the clothes.

Imíonn an tuirse ach fanann an tairbhe.
The tiredness leaves but the profit remains.

Ní sheasaíonn sac folamh.
An empty sack does not stand.

Gheibheann pingin pingin eile.
A penny gets another penny.

Gheibheann cos ar siúl rud éigin.
A moving leg gets something.

An té nach gcuireann san earrach ní bhaineann sé san fhómhar.
Whoever does not plant in the spring does not reap in the fall.

Éist le fuaim na habhann agus gheobhfaidh tú breac.
Listen to the sound of the river and you will get a trout.

An rud a théann i bhfad, téann sé i bhfuaire.
What drags on grows cold.

Doras feasa fiafraí.
Questioning is the door to knowledge.

Ní ghabhann dorn dúnta seabhac.
A closed hand doesn’t catch a hawk.

Níor loisc seanchat é féin riamh.
An old cat never scorched himself.

Glór poiche i muga.
The voice of a wasp in a mug. [lots of noise, no substance]

An rud is annamh is iontach.
What is seldom is wonderful.

Bíonn an tosú lag.
Every beginning is weak.

Bíonn cluasa ar na clathacha.
The fences have ears.

Coimhéad fearg fhear na foighde.
Beware of the anger of a patient man.

Is fearr Gaeilge christe ná Béarla cliste.
Better to have broken Irish than clever English.

Is minic an fhírinne searbh.
The truth is often bitter.

Marbh le tae agus marbh gan é.
Dead with tea and dead without it. [caught between a rock and a hard place]

Ní bhíonn airgead amadáin i bhfad ina phóca.
A fool’s money is not long in his pocket.

Ní bhíonn saoi gan locht.
There is no wise man without fault.

Ní dhíolann dearmad fiacha.
A debt is still unpaid, even if forgotten.

Tada gan iarracht.
Nothing without effort.

Ólann an cat ciúin bainne leis.
The quiet cat also drinks milk. [those you trust may do things you don’t like]

Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh.
A good word never broke a tooth. [it doesn’t hurt to pay a compliment]

Nuair a bhíonn an t-ól istigh, bíonn an chiall amuigh.
When the drink is in, the sense is out.

Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin.
There is no hearth like your own hearth.

Pós bean ón sliabh agus pósfaidh tú an sliabh.
Marry a woman from the mountain and you’ll marry the mountain.

Is trom cearc i bhfad.
A hen is heavy over a long distance. [something that looks easy may be hard over time]

Maireann croí éadrom i bhfad.
A light heart lives the longest.

Is maith an scáthán súil charad.
A friend’s eye is a good mirror.

Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir.
Time makes a good storyteller. [stories are embellished over time]

Is leor don droilín a néad.
The nest is enough for a wren. [home is where the heart is]

Dúirt bean liom go ndúirt bean léi…
A woman told me that a woman told her… [don’t believe everything you’re told]