The 80 Most Famous Turkish Proverbs

We review proverbs from the Ottoman Empire and present-day Turkey in this compilation.

Present-day Turkey is the country that lies on the site of what was formerly known as the Ottoman Empirein Asia Minor.

The Ottoman Empire was one of the greatest empires known to mankind and one of the few that has managed to endure for centuries. Like any advanced civilization, the Ottomans needed to transmit among their population a minimum education and a minimum of vital information that every person within their empire had to know.

The best Turkish proverbs

In this way, the proverbs became a source of wisdom that allowed this famous empire to equip its entire population with the knowledge and wisdom they needed.The proverbs thus became a source of wisdom that allowed this famous empire to provide its entire population with basic knowledge that was the basis of its civilization.

Do you want to know the most interesting Turkish proverbs? Below you will be able to know the 80 best-known Turkish proverbs of today.They contain ancestral wisdom of this millenary nation in the form of proverbs and popular sayings.

• We recommend you to read: "Orientalism: what it is, and how it made it easier to dominate a continent".

1. Wish well, be good.

We should always wish good for our loved ones.

2. Good words will open iron doors.

Being careful with our words will open many doors for us in the future.

3. If skill could be gained by watching, dogs would be butchers.

In order to gain experience, we must put our hands to work.

4. If a dog's prayers were answered, it would rain bones from heaven.

Working for our dreams will be the only thing that will enable us to achieve them.

5. God finds a low branch for the bird that cannot fly.

We must have hope, God can help us tomorrow.

6. Every bad guy has his worst.

There will always be someone worse than us.

7. Eat and drink with your friends, but do not negotiate with them.

We should not mix friendship with business.

8. Do what your teacher says but not what he does.

We must know how to advise, but also have our own personality.

9. It is better to die on a full stomach than to live on an empty stomach.

It is better to die than to live a life of lack.

10. Work breeds prosperity.

Our daily effort will allow us to be more prosperous in the future.

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

A single enemy can cause us much harm. We must beware of our enemies.

12. A red apple invites stones.

We should be generous to those around us.

13. A man is as wise as his head, not as old as his years.

Wisdom is given by the development of our intellect, not by the passage of time.

14. A loving and beautiful Heart is never old.

We are only as old as we feel ourselves to be.

15. Two heads are better than one.

Sharing our doubts can help us to solve them.

16. A person who is too protective always has misfortunes.

He who is always careful is more prone to accidents.

17. Take a needle and prick yourself (to see how it hurts) before you prick others.

Do not do to others what you would not like them to do to you.

18. I found today, I'll eat today. Tomorrow? Well... God is great.

Let's live in the present, tomorrow, God will say.

19. He who rises in anger, sits on a loss.

Acting rashly can be counterproductive, we must think through our actions before carrying them out.

20. The dog that barks, does not bite.

He who talks a lot, does not really have the courage to act.

21. The wind that the sailor desires does not always blow.

We must act when it is possible, otherwise we may miss our chance.

22. A guest arrives with ten blessings, eats one and leaves nine.

If we go to a friend's or relative's house, we should not abuse their generosity.

23. An inexperienced duck dives tail first.

Experience is a degree; if we lack it, we will not be as skillful.

24. One hand does not clap. Two hands do.

In a group we are always stronger.

25. An ass does not appreciate fruit compote.

He who is a glutton does not appreciate the subtlest nuances of a food.

26. Two captains sink a ship.

If a project is directed by two people, it will seldom succeed. There must be a leader who can set a clear objective.

27. The sheep separated from its group is captured by the wolf.

To distance ourselves from our group will leave us exposed to the enemy.

28. It is not shameful to ask, it is shameful not to know.

Asking questions leads to Rome; if we do not ask, we will never learn anything.

29. Many ants kill a camel.

Small mistakes can cause us to fail if they add up together. We must not overlook small mistakes.

30. A lake is formed drop by drop.

Little by little you can end up achieving a great goal.

31. The master of the house is the servant of the guest.

If we have a guest in the house we should be generous with him.

32. Do not talk about ropes in the house of a hanged man.

Knowing how to measure our words can save us a lot of unpleasantness.

33. The bird that sings at the wrong time will die.

Talking too much will be counterproductive for us.

34. He who does not appreciate one, cannot get a thousand.

In order to achieve something very valuable, we must know how to value everything that brings us closer to achieving it.

35. The fly is small, but it is big enough to make us sick.

A small annoyance can eventually cause great discomfort.

36. That which inflames quickly is soon extinguished.

If we do not measure our forces, we can get to defund us. We must know how to act calmly but without pause.

To kill two birds with one stone.

To achieve two objectives with a single act. In Europe we say: "to kill two birds with one stone".

38. A cup of coffee brings forty years of friendship.

We should be generous and invite our guests to a cup of coffee.

39. A hungry stomach has no ear.

If we are too hungry, we will not be able to pay attention.

40. A man is judged on his work.

Our work determines who we are in our society.

41. A small key opens big doors.

Something that may seem insignificant, can allow us to achieve our goal.

42. A wise man remembers his friends always; a fool, only when he needs them.

Our friends can be great allies in the most difficult moments, we should always be grateful for their friendship, not only when we need them.

43. Beauty passes, wisdom remains.

In life, wisdom is much more important than beauty.

44. Hunter and hunted trust in God.

Both parties in an argument usually trust that luck will favor them.

45. Dogs bark, but the caravan passes.

Even if they disrespect us, we should pay no attention to them.

46. Empty words do not fill an empty stomach.

Words are not enough, it is our actions that define us.

47. For every wise man, there is a wiser man.

Many people try to sell a false image of themselves. We must not allow ourselves to be carried away by false appearances.

48. God has created us brothers but has given us separate purses.

Each person looks out for his own economy; we should not trust others to solve our economic problems.

49. If God closes one door, he opens a thousand others.

Even if one path is closed to us, there will always be others we can take. We can always look for a different path to success.

50. It is easier to make a camel jump over a ditch than to make a fool discover the truth.

We should not waste time trying to make others understand our point of view.

51. Listen a hundred times; ponder a thousand times; speak once.

Knowing how to listen and think carefully will enable us to speak with reason.

52. Do not look for a calf under a bull.

We should not ask for pears from the elm tree; certain people will never be as we wish them to be. We must let each person express himself freely.

53. A fighter is never defeated if he never tires of fighting again.

We are not defeated if we never give up, we must persevere in our striving for success.

54. Bitter vinegar only harms its container.

We should not pay with our close environment for our personal problems.

55. The heart endures when the eye does not see.

If we are not aware of a fault, we will not be able to react to it.

56. You reap what you sow.

What we share with others will be what they share with us.

57. If one is far away, one is also far from the heart.

Distance can cool any loving relationship.

58. He who sows winds will reap storms.

If we do evil to others, they will eventually turn against us.

59. A bachelor feels like a sultan.

Singleness can allow us to live much more freely.

60. It will not fill a fig seed.

A small change will not make a big difference.

61. Storm in a nutshell.

A saying that refers to when we face big problems with very few resources.

62. Love is bold.

When we truly love someone, we are capable of doing anything for that person.

63. To the crow's eye, their chicks look like hawks.

Our children will always be the most beautiful to us.

64. An ember burns where it falls.

He who does evil continually, does evil wherever he is.

65. The branch of the tree must bend when it is young.

When we are young, it is the time when we should work the hardest.

66. What a man is at seven is what he is at seventy.

Many of us live with the same deficiencies all our lives.

67. Honor is like a long road with no return, like a perfume with an inaccessible scent.

To be honorable throughout one's life is something that very few people manage to do.

68. Man is harder than iron, stronger than a bull and more agile than a rose.

We are capable of doing everything we set our minds to, many of us never exploit our full potential.

69. Gambling tests gold, and gold tests judgment.

We must not become addicted to games of chance; they will always be an inconvenience in order to accumulate wealth.

70. The water runs, the sand remains; the money goes, the purse remains; the man dies, the name remains.

There will always be something left on earth after our death. We must try to leave a better world, after our passage through it.

71. If a rich man falls, it is an accident; but when a poor man falls, he is said to be drunk.

The poor are always looked upon in a worse light; wealth makes us look like nobler people.

72. When the car has broken down, many will tell you where it was not supposed to go.

When something has already happened, people will always say that they have already warned us.

73. Be master of those who do not love you and slave of those who love you.

Those who show their love for us should be the ones we value the most.

74. For the love of a rose, the gardener is the servant of a thousand thorns.

If we desire a very beautiful person, we must know how to face all those things that keep us away from her.

75. The man who wishes to be calm must be deaf, blind and mute.

Everything that happens around us day after day undoubtedly makes us much more uneasy. Knowing how to meditate can help us to find greater peace of mind.

76. He who falls has no friends.

When we are defeated or lose everything we once had, false friends will always turn their backs on us.

77. He who hesitates between two mosques to go to pray, will end up not praying.

If we look for excuses not to do something, in the end we will never do it.

78. One ounce of false vanity spoils a whole quintal of true merit.

We must know how to guard against false people, for a little falsehood can contaminate a large group of people.

79. Coffee is: Black as the night. Strong as sin. Sweet as love. Hot as hell.

Coffee was highly valued in ancient Persia and also in present-day Turkey, without a doubt this is one of the most valued beverages of our civilization.

80. The true orphan is the one who has not received education.

Education is absolutely essential in any society, with it we will be able to develop in a much more efficient way.