Spanish sayings - translation please

I thought it would be easy to translate the popular Spanish sayings below into the equivalent English sayings but I realise that is not the case..... If anyone would like to lend me a hand.... please

Ládreme el perro, y no me muerda
A buen entendedor, pocas palabras
A caballo regalado, no le mires el diente
Agua passada no mueve molino
Al pan, pan, y al vino, vino
Aquí te pillo, aquí te mato
Bicho malo numca muere
El bien viene andando; el mal, volando
Cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan
Cuando el río suena, agua lleva
Cuando marzo mayea, mayo marcea
Cuanto más viejo, más pellejo
Cuanto más veo, más mal veo
Culo veo, culo quiero
desgraciado en el juego, afortunado en amores
Donde las dan, las toman
En boca cerrada no entran moscas
Gato escaldado, del agua fría huye
Hombre prevenido vale por dos
Ladreme el perro, y no me muerda
lo que no aprieta, no sujeta
mala hierba nunca muere
Mucho ruido y pocas nueces
Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando
Mientras hay vida, hay esperanza
No dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoy
no es oro todo lo que reluce
no hay peor sordo que el que no quiere oir
no todo el monte es oregano
Ojo por ojo, diente por diente
Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente
Piensa el ladrón que todos son de su condición
Que no llora, no mama
Que busca, halla
Quien dice lo que quiere, oye lo que no quiere
Al que primero gana, el diablo le engaña
Quien guarda, halla
Quien se fue a Sevilla, perdió su Silla
Santa Rita, Santa Rita, lo que se da, no se quita
Quien madruga, Dios ayuda
Por tan temprano madrugar, amanece más temprano

Wow! what a hard work. I'll try... so you don't understand ANY of them?

Ládreme el perro, y no me muerda

this is not correct, it's "perro ladrador poco mordedor" " a dog that barks too much doesn't bite too much" --> i.e, a person that looks like is allways angry but at the end is a nice and polite person.

A buen entendedor, pocas palabras BASTAN.

"For a good understander a few words are enough", that's for laconic speakers.

A caballo regalado, no le mires el diente
"don't look the tooth of a horse that's a present"
Well, if they give you a present, don't comment about its quality, it's a present!

Agua passada no mueve molino... too difficult for me!

Al pan, pan, y al vino, vino
"To bread, bread, to wine, wine"-->"name things as you should, don't be so euphemistic"

Aquí te pillo, aquí te mato
"Here I get you, here I kill you" he he... good one "I make it at the same moment I think it". Used widely refering to...emm, SEX!.

bicho malo numca muere
"bad beast never dies". use this for criminals, politicians and anyone who everyone would agree that is 'bad'

El bien viene andando; el mal, volando
"Good comes walking, bad flying"
Well, the good things allways come too late and bad things too soon. A bit pesimistic, isn't it?

Cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan
"When the cat is out the mice dance"
I.e, if your boss is missing and you are partying because he is out.

Cuando el río suena, agua lleva
"When the river sounds,it carries water"
You couldn't figure this out... it means that if you hear rumors, it's because there is some truth in them.

Cuando marzo mayea, mayo marcea
"When March is like May, May is like March"
IT'S TRUE, pure spanish meteo, some years march is hot and sunny, and then NOOOOO may is chilling and windy. Even snowy!

END OF PART 1

Hi, thanks for your efforts.

I know that in English the same sayings do exist, but often in a different form. However, I am not sure about the exact wording of the English sayings.

For instants the saying :
"Cuando el río suena, agua lleva"

translates to "
Where there is smoke there is fire" (Thats what I believe, but I am not completely sure)

Althought I apreciate your translations which are very helpfull indeed, I still would love to see equivalent English expressions for these Spanish sayings.

Thanks again

Cuanto más viejo, más pellejo
"when you get older, you get uglier" pure truth, again.

Cuanto más veo, más mal veo
"The more I see, the more evil things I see". Again pesimistic. Pesimist thinking is a constant in Spain's history.

Culo veo, culo quiero
"I see a butt and I want that butt"="I feel envy"

desgraciado en el juego, afortunado en amores
"unlucky in game, lucky in love" It seems like if you loose in a game, you are loved. I use to say this when I loose playing cards.

Donde las dan, las toman
"Where they give them, they take them"="Ojo por ojo..."=Thalion law.
END OF PART 2

Hiya,

Ladreme el perro y no me muerde
- All bark and no bite

Mas vale un pajaro en mano que ciento volando
- A bird in hand is worth two in the bush

No dejes para manana lo que puedas hacer hoy
- Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today

Ojo por ojo, diente por diente
- (literally) eye for an eye,....

ojos que no ven, corazon no se siente
- eyes sees not, the heart rues not,(I'm sure there is a modern one but i can't remember it)

Quien se madruga, dios le ayuda
two possible usages;
'Early bird gets the worm' &
'Early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise'.

I'm not sure all of the ones listed at the beginning have the English equivalent, certainly someone else can help you with a few more as these are the only ones I know.
This is fun.

'Desgraciado en el juego, afortunado en amores'

It seems the equivalent is

'Unlucky in love, lucky at play' but seems to be used more by just saying,
'Lucky in love' when you lose.

It's more that you can't have luck in both love and gamble, it's one or the other. I'm afraid though that it is not the case that if you lose you are loved more. There is a slight difference.

My husband used to be an excellent poker
player

Ooops!
Understood.
I see what you wanted, I'm sorry but I can't help you with that...

excuse me once again,
Deibid, any chance you could translate a few more?
Perhaps the last few like Sevilla y silla etc, i don't understand those ones.
:-)

Sure, miche!
"el que se fue a Sevilla perdió su silla" is really a funny rhyme that we use whenever someone leaves the place he was sitting on and you go and sit there.
In english it doesn't rhyme, of course, so it looses all sense
"The one who went to Seville lost his chair"
So, you know, if your buddy is compfortably watching a movie in the sofa and then he goes for a drink and you sit in the same place, when he returns you can say "el que se fue a Sevilla perdió su silla".

"Santa Rita , lo que se da no se quita"
Another one that has no equal in english (as far aas I know, that is little)
It's like Sevilla, a rhyme used when someone gives you something as a gift and then you want it back.
In english again it does not make sense nor rhymes at all:
"st. Rita, what is given is not retrieved"
So... if your buddy says: "hey, take my sunglasses, I don't need them anymore..." and then he regrets it you can say him
"Santa Rita, lo que se da no se quita"

Cheers Deibid!!

I'm still giggling.

You made me remember what my mom used to say after the saying el que fue a Sevilla, perdió la silla she would respond: el que fue y volvió no la perdió and then you have to give up the seat!!

My wife always says: "Santa Rita Rita, Rita; lo que se da no se quita" if someone who gave something asks for its return. I guess the closest thing we have in (U.S.) Engligh for this is "indian Giver!"

Here are some more that are common in English:
desgraciado en el juego, afortunado en amores Lucky at cards, unlucky in love;
A caballo regalado, no le mires el diente Never look a gift horse in the mouth!
Cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan When the cat's away, the mice will play
Mientras hay vida, hay esperanza Where there's life, there's hope
Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
No dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoyDon't put off until tomorrow what you can do today
no es oro todo lo que reluce All that glitters is not gold
Quien madruga, Dios ayuda The early bird gets the worm (or maybe it's: God helps those who help themselves)
Que no llora, no mama If you don't cry, you don't suckle (crying baby gets the teat)
Ojo por ojo, diente por diente An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
no hay peor sordo que el que no quiere oir No one is more deaf than one who will not hear

There are two classes of phrases here: dichos y refranes. Some, mostly the former have an english language equivalent. Here are a couple of the latter (i.e., refrains). Madrileños very often speak in refrains.
Quien se fue a Sevilla, perdió su Silla a refran often used when several Spanish women are together and one leaves to use the restroom (or whatever) and her seat is occupied by another when she returns.
Quien guarda, halla A very succint way of saying: If you take care of your things you'll have them when you need them

Great thread - really interesting!
Wouldn't "ojos que no ven, corazon no se siente" translate "out of sight, out of mind"?
cheers/tora

Of course Tora!!
I couldn't remember it, yes that's the one we often use rather than 'what the eye sees not the heart rues not' hee hee.

The English equivalent of "Santa Rita Rita..." depends on the context. I've seen it used as a Spanish translation for "finders keepers."

thanks everybody...really great!!!!

Here are some more from your list:

>Agua pasada no mueve molino
There's no use crying over spilled milk.

>Al pan, pan, y al vino, vino
Calling a spade a spade.

>Aquí te pillo, aquí te mato
The gist is that you're taking advantage of a situation impulsively, without advance planning. Increasingly, it's used in connection with "quickie" sex, and in some cases could be translated as "Wham, bam, thank you ma'am" (you should pardon the expression).

>Bicho malo nunca muere / Hierba mala no muere
The devil looks after his own.

>El bien viene andando; el mal, volando
No exact equivalent comes to mind, though it reminds me of the old Yiddish saying, "Good news will keep, and bad news will refuse to leave."

>Cuando marzo mayea, mayo marcea
There's probably no exact match, though there are some relatively obscure sayings about unseasonable weather in English: "Warm Christmas, cold Easter" is one.

>Cuanto más veo, más mal veo
Perhaps "The more I learn, the less I know"?

>Culo veo, culo quiero
Very roughly... "Keeping up with the Joneses."

>Donde las dan, las toman
What goes around comes around.

>En boca cerrada no entran moscas
Probably the nearest English aphorism is Mark Twain's famous quip to the effect that it is better to keep one's mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. However, I've seen it translated as "A closed mouth gathers no feet."

>Gato escaldado, del agua fría huye
Perhaps "Once bitten, twice shy"?

>Hombre prevenido vale por dos
Forewarned is forearmed.

>lo que no aprieta, no sujeta
"Spare the rod, spoil the child" or "You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs."

>Mucho ruido y pocas nueces
Much ado about nothing. / It's a tempest in a teapot.

>no hay peor sordo que el que no quiere oir
There are none so blind as those who will not see.

>no todo el monte es oregano
Life is not all beer and skittles.

>Que no llora, no mama
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

>Que busca, halla
Seek and ye shall find.

>Quien dice lo que quiere, oye lo que no quiere
I can't think of an English equivalent off the top of my head. If I came across it in a translation project, I might try to make up something that puts across the meaning while sounding like a proverb. Perhaps "A loose tongue wounds the speaker."

>Quien guarda, halla
A penny saved is a penny earned.

>Por tan temprano madrugar, amanece más temprano
You can't rush things. (Not a proverb, but a common enough phrase.)

>Cuanto mas viejo, mas pellejo.
This is said to criticize old people whose "young" behavior might seem inappropriate. For example, a guy in his 70s who stays out partying all night, chasing women in their 20s.

Gee... now that I think of it... I hope you're not having us do your homework for you.

From the beginning, this whole inquiry sounded sort of fishy...were we perhaps asked to do someone's school homework assignment for them?

I am neither English nor Spanish. Sayings and expressions make a language rich and interesting. However if it is not your mother tongue, it is the hardest thing to learn. Language is alive and sayings are only interesting when they are known. You might get away baffling people with sayings that they have never heard before (but usually not, if you are a foreigner). Even harder than understanding sayings in one language is finding equivalents in another.

I thought I could learn sayings from a book and started memorizing obscure phrases that nobody ever heard of. The book I got contains over 3500 Spanish sayings, from which more than 3000 are unknown with my Spanish friends. Definitelly a book you don’t need.

I thought I heard most English sayings, but I have learned a few nice new ones with this thread for which I am very grateful!!!

Language is fun! I have learned something new, which is great. I hope that others feel the same.
Thanks again!

I'm enjoying this subject.Very informative! Can anyone translate "birds of the same feather,flocks together" and "time heals all wounds" in spanish please??

"el que se fue a Sevilla perdió su silla" in rhymed english is "move your feet, lose your seat". Unfourtionatly, I've had it used on me quite a few times. I've always played with the rule if you say "saved" or "aces" no one can take your seat. Of course its only a game with friends/children.

"Birds of a feather flock together" is roughly the same sentiment as "Dios los cría y ellos se juntan" and "Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres."

"Time heals all wounds" could be "El tiempo lo cura todo" or -- less literally -- "No hay mal que cien años dure." (I've heard the latter more often.)

By the way, I really like "Move your feet, lose your seat!" It's very cute, and I'm not sure if I've heard it before.

Supajack, I have never heard your version. I grew up saying & hearing "move your meat, lose your seat"...perhaps a bit more crass than your interpretation.

Then again, that´s Philadelphia for you! (or should I say, for youse!

Yo, Chica --

Now that you mention it, "Move your meat, lose your seat" does vaguely ring a bell. Probably because I grew up just down the PATCO line from you, in Camden county (where we know what hoagies and jimmies are).

Well, the classic tongue-in-cheek translation of that is "Ciego loco." (One of my high school Spanish teachers told us that was an example of a bad computer translation.)

Why am I fluffing this thread. I'll be honest - I had actually googled a Spanish expression I'd seen (culo veo, culo quiero -- I couldn't work out what the hell it meant) to find its meaning. Of course MadridMans board came up. I should have searched here first of all.
What an amazing site (I believe people have stated this before...)

Could "culo veo, culo quiero" be "monkey see, monkey do"?

And how about this one. "No hay mal que por bien no venga" which is a wonderfully twisted way of saying "every cloud has a silver lining"

Congratulations Rboltze, this was a great idea.

Well, this is great. Yesterday I noticed that I KNOW rboltze, we are currently (since october) working in the same company.
2 years ago we didn't know each other, but now we work together.
This is the magic of internet.
We say "El mundo es un pañuelo"
I don't know the equivalent English saying, but it would translate like "this is a small world".

This is FUN! (Glad that Deibid ended up working with a fellow board member)
Found some more
A palabras necias, oidos sordos - Take no notice of the stupid things some people say
Al perro flaco, todo son pulgas - It never rains but it pours
Dame pan y dime tonto - I don't care what you think of me so long as I get what I want
De casi no se muere nadie - A miss is as good as a mile
A la puta y al barbero nadie los quiere viejos - It's a young man's game(???)

Here's one I've not been able to suss out, I suspect it may be a Bible quotation...
Cada mochuelo a su olivo

Found some (but not all) translations at this website:

proverbs page

How about:

-"El/la que tuvo, retuvo"

(It means someone that was beautiful when young will remain somewhat attractive all his/her life...)

-"Dos que duermen en el mismo colchón, se vuelven de la misma condición"

(Two who share the same mattress, become alike....)

-"A quien buen árbol se arrima, buena sombra le cobija"

(He who seeks good shelter gets good protection....)

-"Tanto va el cántaro a la fuente...que se rompe"

(Sometimes insisting two much on something, forcing it,...just makes the whole thing fall apart....)

Are there equivalents?

PIM

Here are some more sayings that I thought would be fun... Enjoy!

No hay mal que por bien no venga.

Puedo ser viejo, pero no pendejo.

Palo que nace turcido nunca su ramo endereza.

No hay peor ciego que el que no quiere ver.

Quien no le den pan que coma.

En donde ubo fuego cenizas quedan.

Puerta cerrada hoy, habierta manana.

Camaron que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente.

Vas de Guatemala a Guatepeor.

Al mal tiempo, buena cara.

Son tal para qual.

Ni tanto juele tu flor.

Adonde esta el palo, esta la estilla.

El que brinca del puente da con su muerte.

Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres.

Cada mochuelo a su olivo
could be something like "each to his own"

Here are the few sayings or expressions that I haven't seen mentioned in this thread (sorry if they appear somewhere else)

- Agua que no has de beber dejala correr

- Al mal paso darle prisa

- Ni tanto que queme al santo ni tanto que no le alumbre

- Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente

- Tanto peca el que mata la vaca como el que le coge la pata

- No hay mal que por bien no venga

- No hay enfermedad que dure cien años ni enfermo que los resista

- A Dios lo que es de Dios y al Cesar lo que es del Cesar

- Caras vemos, corazones no sabemos

- Al que madruga, Dios le ayuda

- A Dios rogando y con el mazo dando

- Como buscar una aguja en un pajar

- De tal palo, tal astilla

- Esta como pez en el agua

- Favor con favor se paga

- Hacerse de la vista gorda

- Aqui hay gato encerrado

- Ir de mal en peor

- Más vale maña que fuerza

- Salio con su domingo 7

- Pagar los platos rotos

- Como pedirle peras peras al olmo

- Quien mal anda, mal acaba

- Roma no se hizo en un día

- Preguntando se llega a Roma

- Toco madera

- Una de cal por dos de arena

Another proverb I've come across..

obras son amores y no buenas razones - actions speak louder than words

and another relevant link

spanish proverbs

out of sight, out of mind = fuera de la vista fuera de los pensamientos.

Here's one I didn't see mentioned (forgive me if the spanish isn't perfect): Con pan y vino, se anda al camino...