Arabic Proverbs
@arabicproverbs.bsky.social
Translations of al-Maydānī's (d. 1124) Proverbs (مجمع الأمثال)
by Nathaniel Miller, PhD Arabic Literature and author of The Emergence of Arabic Poetry (Penn Press, 2024).
All screenshots are from the ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd edition.
by Nathaniel Miller, PhD Arabic Literature and author of The Emergence of Arabic Poetry (Penn Press, 2024).
All screenshots are from the ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd edition.
"Death comes from above for the coward."
inna l-jabbāna ḥatfuhū min fawqih
Said on the impossibility of avoiding one's fate.
inna l-jabbāna ḥatfuhū min fawqih
Said on the impossibility of avoiding one's fate.
January 6, 2026 at 6:14 AM
"Death comes from above for the coward."
inna l-jabbāna ḥatfuhū min fawqih
Said on the impossibility of avoiding one's fate.
inna l-jabbāna ḥatfuhū min fawqih
Said on the impossibility of avoiding one's fate.
"He had a long penis" in classical Arabic — kāna ayruhu ṭawīlan — was a way of saying "he had many male children".
But what if you want to actually talk about a long penis? There is a single word, uyārī, meaning "having a large penis."
But what if you want to actually talk about a long penis? There is a single word, uyārī, meaning "having a large penis."
![أَيْرٌ The membrum virile; penis; veretrum: (TA pl. [of pauc.] أَيُرٌ and آيَارٌ (S, M, K) and [of mult.] أُيُورٌ (S, K) and إِيَرٌ. (L.) — كَانَ أَيْرُهُ طَوِيلًا is a phrase meaning ‡ He had many male children. (T, TA.)
أَيَارِيٌّ Having a large membrum virile, or penis; (T, S, M, K ;) like أَنَافِيٌّ signifying "having a large nose." (T.)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:kxqsfira2n4dkzri5c647ocz/bafkreihsy6a744e323brl6w25et57322sfr4ggjdntz6bqt5isknzpsepm@jpeg)
January 5, 2026 at 11:44 PM
"He had a long penis" in classical Arabic — kāna ayruhu ṭawīlan — was a way of saying "he had many male children".
But what if you want to actually talk about a long penis? There is a single word, uyārī, meaning "having a large penis."
But what if you want to actually talk about a long penis? There is a single word, uyārī, meaning "having a large penis."
No. 9
🪡
"The cure for a rip is to sew it up."
inna dawāʾa sh-shaqqi an taḥūṣahū
Apparently this is actually just said when someone tears something and patches it.
🪡
"The cure for a rip is to sew it up."
inna dawāʾa sh-shaqqi an taḥūṣahū
Apparently this is actually just said when someone tears something and patches it.
January 5, 2026 at 8:18 PM
No. 9
🪡
"The cure for a rip is to sew it up."
inna dawāʾa sh-shaqqi an taḥūṣahū
Apparently this is actually just said when someone tears something and patches it.
🪡
"The cure for a rip is to sew it up."
inna dawāʾa sh-shaqqi an taḥūṣahū
Apparently this is actually just said when someone tears something and patches it.
Reposted by Arabic Proverbs
Probably the coolest X stem you'll see today:
استنسر /istansara/
"become eagle-like" 🦅
استنسر /istansara/
"become eagle-like" 🦅
No. 8
🦅
"In our country the little birds become eagles"
inna l-bughātha bi-arḍinā yastansir
Said when someone or something weak becomes powerful.
🦅
"In our country the little birds become eagles"
inna l-bughātha bi-arḍinā yastansir
Said when someone or something weak becomes powerful.
January 5, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Probably the coolest X stem you'll see today:
استنسر /istansara/
"become eagle-like" 🦅
استنسر /istansara/
"become eagle-like" 🦅
No. 8
🦅
"In our country the little birds become eagles"
inna l-bughātha bi-arḍinā yastansir
Said when someone or something weak becomes powerful.
🦅
"In our country the little birds become eagles"
inna l-bughātha bi-arḍinā yastansir
Said when someone or something weak becomes powerful.
January 5, 2026 at 2:18 PM
No. 8
🦅
"In our country the little birds become eagles"
inna l-bughātha bi-arḍinā yastansir
Said when someone or something weak becomes powerful.
🦅
"In our country the little birds become eagles"
inna l-bughātha bi-arḍinā yastansir
Said when someone or something weak becomes powerful.
Reposted by Arabic Proverbs
A corvid vocative phrase to try out this week (Lane 1402b) 🐦⬛
يا سلح الغراب
يا سلح الغراب
January 5, 2026 at 1:40 PM
A corvid vocative phrase to try out this week (Lane 1402b) 🐦⬛
يا سلح الغراب
يا سلح الغراب
No. 7
🥛
A medieval account of hangriness:
They say some man once alit with a tribe he was angry with. On top of that he was hungry. They poured him some rathīʾa (a mixture of sour and fresh milk) and his anger abated.
🥛
A medieval account of hangriness:
They say some man once alit with a tribe he was angry with. On top of that he was hungry. They poured him some rathīʾa (a mixture of sour and fresh milk) and his anger abated.
January 5, 2026 at 2:37 AM
No. 7
🥛
A medieval account of hangriness:
They say some man once alit with a tribe he was angry with. On top of that he was hungry. They poured him some rathīʾa (a mixture of sour and fresh milk) and his anger abated.
🥛
A medieval account of hangriness:
They say some man once alit with a tribe he was angry with. On top of that he was hungry. They poured him some rathīʾa (a mixture of sour and fresh milk) and his anger abated.
No. 6
🔥
"Barājim's envoy is truly wretched."
inna sh-shaqiyya wāfidu l-barājim
Said when someone inadvertently brings about their own destruction.
There's a story about a pre-Islamic king who burned people alive that explains this one:
🔥
"Barājim's envoy is truly wretched."
inna sh-shaqiyya wāfidu l-barājim
Said when someone inadvertently brings about their own destruction.
There's a story about a pre-Islamic king who burned people alive that explains this one:
January 4, 2026 at 5:14 PM
No. 6
🔥
"Barājim's envoy is truly wretched."
inna sh-shaqiyya wāfidu l-barājim
Said when someone inadvertently brings about their own destruction.
There's a story about a pre-Islamic king who burned people alive that explains this one:
🔥
"Barājim's envoy is truly wretched."
inna sh-shaqiyya wāfidu l-barājim
Said when someone inadvertently brings about their own destruction.
There's a story about a pre-Islamic king who burned people alive that explains this one:
No. 5
🐎
"You can tell a fine horse by its teeth."
inna l-jawāda ʿaynuhū firāruh
Said when you can tell about the true value of someone or something from their appearance.
🐎
"You can tell a fine horse by its teeth."
inna l-jawāda ʿaynuhū firāruh
Said when you can tell about the true value of someone or something from their appearance.
January 4, 2026 at 2:39 AM
No. 5
🐎
"You can tell a fine horse by its teeth."
inna l-jawāda ʿaynuhū firāruh
Said when you can tell about the true value of someone or something from their appearance.
🐎
"You can tell a fine horse by its teeth."
inna l-jawāda ʿaynuhū firāruh
Said when you can tell about the true value of someone or something from their appearance.
No. 4
"People with a job to do are forgetful."
inna l-muwaṣṣayna banū sahwān
It is used of someone who fails to complete a task they've been given.
"People with a job to do are forgetful."
inna l-muwaṣṣayna banū sahwān
It is used of someone who fails to complete a task they've been given.
January 3, 2026 at 9:47 PM
No. 4
"People with a job to do are forgetful."
inna l-muwaṣṣayna banū sahwān
It is used of someone who fails to complete a task they've been given.
"People with a job to do are forgetful."
inna l-muwaṣṣayna banū sahwān
It is used of someone who fails to complete a task they've been given.
No. 3
🐪
"Some plants of spring can kill when too much is eaten."
inna mimmā yunbitu r-rabīʿ mā yaqtulu ḥabaṭan aw yulimm
Said when discouraging excessiveness in anything.
🐪
"Some plants of spring can kill when too much is eaten."
inna mimmā yunbitu r-rabīʿ mā yaqtulu ḥabaṭan aw yulimm
Said when discouraging excessiveness in anything.
January 3, 2026 at 4:28 AM
No. 3
🐪
"Some plants of spring can kill when too much is eaten."
inna mimmā yunbitu r-rabīʿ mā yaqtulu ḥabaṭan aw yulimm
Said when discouraging excessiveness in anything.
🐪
"Some plants of spring can kill when too much is eaten."
inna mimmā yunbitu r-rabīʿ mā yaqtulu ḥabaṭan aw yulimm
Said when discouraging excessiveness in anything.
inna l-munbatta lā arḍan qataʿ wa-lā ẓahran abqā
"The lone traveller crosses no land and spares no mount."
It's used when someone does something to excess, like a traveler going ahead of companions, to the point where they don't achieve their original goal.
"The lone traveller crosses no land and spares no mount."
It's used when someone does something to excess, like a traveler going ahead of companions, to the point where they don't achieve their original goal.
January 2, 2026 at 3:17 PM
inna l-munbatta lā arḍan qataʿ wa-lā ẓahran abqā
"The lone traveller crosses no land and spares no mount."
It's used when someone does something to excess, like a traveler going ahead of companions, to the point where they don't achieve their original goal.
"The lone traveller crosses no land and spares no mount."
It's used when someone does something to excess, like a traveler going ahead of companions, to the point where they don't achieve their original goal.
Eloquence is a kind of magic.
إِنَّ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ لَسِحْرًا
إِنَّ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ لَسِحْرًا
January 2, 2026 at 12:15 AM
Eloquence is a kind of magic.
إِنَّ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ لَسِحْرًا
إِنَّ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ لَسِحْرًا