Tag Archives: arabic

“Your onion is burnt” – Arabic Saying

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

Context:

He heard it at his grandma’s house in Jordan when he was around 6 years old. He says that the saying means “You are impatient.”

Text:

Original Script: بصلتك محروقة

Transliteration: Basiltak mahrou’a

Translation: Your onion is burnt

Thoughts:

This saying made little sense to me until I was told by someone else that onions burn quickly when being cooked. With that in mind, I made the connection that the impatient person is like a cooking onion: neither can wait for long. The purpose of this saying is to point out another person’s error in such a way that would have been easier to take than if it had been said plainly (“You’re impatient”). Although not technically a proverb, this saying does give a piece of advice in an indirect way.

“Do not put me in front of the cannon” – Arabic Saying

Nationality: Palestinian
Age: 78
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Long Beach
Performance Date: 5/2/2021
Primary Language: Arabic
Language: English, French, Italian

Context:

He heard this in Jordan when he was a teenager. He said that “this comes [up] when there is a crucial discussion, and someone wants to know who is responsible for something. The person volunteered by the group would say ‘Ma t-hotni bi bouz el madfah’ because they are going to see the person’s first reaction.”

Text:

Original Script: ما تحطني ببوز المدفع

Transliteration: Ma t-hotni bi bouz el madfah

Literal Translation: Do not put me in face of cannon

Smooth Translation: Do not put me in front of the cannon

Thoughts:

I found this saying really funny, since it compares a person’s potentially unpleasant reaction to a loaded cannon. Although today was the first time I heard this, I remember experiencing the same feeling when there was bad news that had to be told to someone. People generally don’t like to be the bearer of bad news because of how the person might react. I find this saying to be similar to the English saying “Don’t shoot the messenger,” which is what the person would tell the recipient of the bad news. “Ma t-hotni bi bouz el madfah” captures the cross-cultural dislike of witnessing the first reaction of someone who was told bad news, since they might direct their anger or frustration towards the messenger. This may put a strain on the relationship between the messenger and person, and most people would not want to put unnecessary strain on their relationships.

“Them saying ‘coward’ a hundred times is better than them saying ‘God rest his soul.’” – Arabic Proverb

Nationality: Palestinian
Age: 78
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Long Beach
Performance Date: 5/2/2021
Primary Language: Arabic
Language: English, French, Italian

Context:

He heard it in Jordan when he was around 15 years old, when he “started volunteering to do risky things.” “If someone wants to do something risky–so that even his life is at risk–his parents would ask him why, to which he would answer ‘they will call me a coward.’ His parents would then tell him this proverb.”

Text:

Original Script: “يقولوا ميت “جبان” ولا يقولوا “الله يرحمو”

Transliteration: Y’oulou meet “jaban” wala y’oulou “Allah yerhamo”

Literal Translation: Them saying hundred “coward” better than them saying “God rest his soul”

Smooth Translation: Them saying “coward” a hundred times is better than them saying “God rest his soul”

Thoughts:

This proverb reminds me of how I was raised, although I heard a similar English proverb (“Better safe than sorry”) much more often than this proverb. Like my informant, I first heard this proverb from my parents when I was a young teenager; they wanted to make sure that my ego would not cause me harm, especially if peer pressure is present. This proverb implies that Arabs generally value well-being over pride.

“The monkey in his mom’s eye is a gazelle” – Arabic Proverb

Nationality: Palestinian
Age: 75
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Long Beach
Performance Date: 5/2/2021
Primary Language: Arabic
Language: English, French

Context:

She learned it from her mom and grandma in Jordan. She said that the proverb means that a mom never finds a fault in her child.

Text:

Original Script: القرد بعين امه غزال

Transliteration: El ‘ird bi aine immo ghazal

Literal Translation: The monkey in his mom’s eye is gazelle

Smooth Translation: The monkey in his mom’s eyes is a gazelle

Thoughts:

I found this proverb to be really funny because although I’ve seen moments like what the proverb describes, it’s generally the opposite in my family: it’s usually the aunts and grandmas that see the child as better than they really are, and it’s usually the moms who are quick to tell their children their faults. The background information that one must have to understand the proverb is that monkeys are seen as ugly, but gazelles are seen as beautiful (there are love poems called ghazals because of that connection). Thus, the proverb implies that even if someone is as ugly as a monkey, their mom would see them as beautiful as a gazelle, which comments on the strength of family ties: the love of a mother would gloss over all the child’s faults.

“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.