Category Archives: Proverbs

“Whoever eats alone chokes” – Arabic Proverb

Nationality: Jordanian
Age: 41
Occupation: Accounting Manager
Residence: Yorba Linda
Performance Date: 5/3/2021
Primary Language: Arabic
Language: English, French

Context:

She learned this from her brothers in Jordan when they were young. They were trying to convince her to share her treats (she was the youngest and was spoiled), so they would tell her this proverb, hoping that she would give them some out of fear of choking.

Text:

Original Script: اللي بياكل لحاله بزور

Transliteration: Elly biakol lahalo bizwar

Translation: Whoever eats alone chokes

Thoughts:

I’ve heard this proverb a couple of times, after I choked while eating alone. The proverb is meant to discourage people from not sharing their food, or eating by themselves, likely because Arabs usually eat as a family. This proverb focuses not on giving advice, but on protecting that family tradition.

“Nothing scratches your itch like your nails” – Arabic Proverb

Nationality: Jordanian
Age: 55
Occupation: Disabled
Residence: Long Beach
Performance Date: 5/1/2021
Primary Language: Arabic
Language: English, French

Context:

He heard this proverb when he was a kid, in Jerusalem. He would hear it being said when someone asks for help, but the helper does not do it the way the person wanted it done.

Text:

Original Script: ما حك جلدك الا ضفرك

Transliteration: Ma hack jildak illa dofrak

Literal Translation: Nothing scratches your skin like your nails

Smooth Translation: Nothing scratches your itch like your nails

Thoughts:

When he said this proverb out loud today (when I forgot to complete something he asked me to do), I quickly wrote it down. It reminded me of the English proverb “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” Proverbs generally give advice in indirect ways, and this proverb does so by giving a comparison: it is much more efficient to scratch your own itch than to ask someone else to do it; you would have to tell them where and how hard to itch.

“The dog’s tail is curved. Even if you put it in 100 molds, it stays curved.” – Arabic Proverb

Nationality: Jordanian
Age: 51
Occupation: Restaurant Owner
Residence: Seal Beach
Performance Date: 5/3/2021
Primary Language: Arabic
Language: English, French

Context:

He learned this in high school, in Jordan, likely from one of his teachers. When you have hope that somebody would do something right/good, for a change, but they do not, this would be the time to say it.

Text:

Original Script: دنب الكلب اعوج. لو بنحط بميت قالب بضل اعوج

Transliteration: Danab el kalb awaj. Law binhat bi meet aleb bidal awaj.

Literal Translation: The dog’s tail is curved. Even if you put it in 100 molds stays curved.

Smooth Translation: The dog’s tail is curved. Even if you put it in 100 molds, it stays curved.

Thoughts:

I found this proverb particularly funny because we have a pug, and his tail is always curled, so the imagery was clear. This is similar to the English proverb “A leopard never changes its spots,” in that both of them use immutable characteristics of animals as a comparison to someone who cannot change. By using the hyperbole of 100 molds, the proverb uses a bit of humor to take the edge off of the indirect advice/criticism.

“A third of the kid is to his uncle” – Arabic Proverb

Nationality: Jordanian
Age: 51
Occupation: Restaurant Owner
Residence: Long Beach
Performance Date: 5/3/2021
Primary Language: Arabic
Language: English, French

Context:

He heard it from his aunt in Jordan when he was a teenager. He says that the proverb means that a boy inherits a lot of his uncle’s traits.

Text:

Original Script: تلت الولد لخاله

Transliteration: Tult elwalad la khalo

Literal Translation: Third of the kid is to his uncle

Smooth Translation: A third of the kid is to his uncle

Thoughts:

I heard this proverb for the first time only recently, and I found it funny how it kind of describes me: I spent a lot of time with my uncles as a kid, and I started taking after them a bit. What interests me is that the amount is ⅓, implying that the mom and dad are the other ⅔ of the child. This proverb shows how strong family ties are even outside of the nuclear family (from what I’ve seen, this holds true: the Arabic families I know are tightly knit).

“The key to the stomach is a bite” – Arabic Proverb

Nationality: Jordanian
Age: 41
Occupation: Accounting Manager
Residence: Yorba Linda
Performance Date: 5/3/2021
Primary Language: Arabic
Language: English, French

Context:

She learned it from her grandma when she was a kid in Jordan. When her grandma offered her food, and she said that she has no appetite, her grandma would say “Muftah el button lo’meh” as a way to get her to eat a bite to increase her appetite.

Text:

Original Script: مفتاح البطن لقمة

Transliteration: Muftah el button lo’meh

Literal Translation: Key to the stomach is a bite

Smooth Translation: The key to the stomach is a bite

Thoughts:

I found it strange that there would be a proverb used to convince someone to eat–usually, the problem is getting someone to stop eating. My family has told me this proverb a few times too when I said I was not hungry, and usually a bite did make me hungry. It wasn’t until this week that I realized that this proverb, from the times I have heard it used, is used when the rest of the family is eating. This proverb is not said to give advice, but to protect the Arabic tradition of eating together as a family.