إذا ضربت الماء فسيظل الماء.

Transliteration: iidha darabat alma’ fasayazilu alma

Translation: If you hit the water it will still be water

When someone is trying to explain something to someone else and they are not absorbing the information.

Background Information: Common Arabic proverb used in different parts of the middle east such as Lebanon.

Context: The informant had immigrated to the United States from Lebanon when he was in his adolescence. I started interviewing the informant when he visited my house for dinner. I specifically asked him for a common Arabic proverb and this was the first that came into his mind.

Thoughts: I think that this proverb doesn’t explain much about Arabic culture but is just a simple way of explaining that someone is not understanding what you are saying. It reminds me of the American proverb that says that “talking to you is like talking to a wall”. This just means that that there is no productive communication being made.