30 Fun and Wise Nepali Proverbs

Photo by Kasia Palitava from Pexels

Nepal may not be among the strongest and the most powerful nations — but that doesn’t mean it has lacked occasional thinkers with words of wisdom. Here are 30 proverbs from the land of mountains and writers (what?):

1. The lost fish is always big
2. He who is thirsty needs to find the spring
3. A devious friend is worse than an apparent enemy
4. Opportunities come but do not linger
5. When the Sun arrives, the Stars disappear
6. Greed brings Gain, Gain brings Sorrow
7. Even an ox will give birth — if you are lucky
8. To be in a hurry when one can barely walk!
9. You may eat what you want, but you wear for others
10. When brothers brawl, the villagers exploit
11. The tiger that eats you will not spare me
12. You have to tolerate the kicks of the cow which gives you milk
13. The buffalo is scared of the mendicant just as the mendicant is afraid of the buffalo
14. When elephants fight, grass trample
15. Ask for a goat to those who promise you an elephant
16. When the cat leaves, the rats rule
17. Too many cats kill no mice
18. Don’t sacrifice your goat for an ill chicken
19. Even a black crow lays white eggs
20. Can a hog muddy the sea?
21. The forest goes and so does the tiger
22. Every spring has a different taste, every man a different idea
23. Pulling a creeper can bring a landslide
24. No one sits by an extinguished fire
25. Children are the wealth of the poor
26. Will impatience bear a son?
27. A knot tied with joy is untied with tears
28. While the holy men die of starvation, rogues live on milk and rice
29. When you’re having a bad day, even an unloaded gun fires
30. The enemy is never idle