You mean proverbs? The only ones I can think of right now are: "Speaking is silver, silence is gold" and "Lazy mouth is a sheer disaster". Czech wisdom seems to be of a controversial nature. :?
Hm, this is the second saying this week that I have discovered which is allegedly of Czech origin, but which I have always thought to be Estonian. The first one was "Every man must plant a tree, build a house and raise a child", introduced as being Czech in Tim Nollen's Culture Shock book. Weird. As for quotes as in quotes from literature, there's always the classics: Tak nám zabili Ferdinanda...
I just wanted to specify that the origin of the proverb "speech is silver, silence is gold" is far from being sure. Among the several European languages which use this proverb, last research shows that it first appeared in German, then in English, and in Czech afterwards. Some other experts even claim that it has some oriental origin. The proverb might have appeared for the first time in Egypt.
It is comparable with Latin: Silentium signum sapientiae, loquacitas signum stultitiae. (Silence is a sign of wisdom, loquacity a sign of stupidity.) or Silentium omnia bona continet, mala omnia loquacitas.
Here are a few, not necessarily of Czech origin, but common in Czech: Kdo jinému jámu kopá, sám do ní padá. He who digs a hole for someone, will fall in it himself. Co můžeš udělat dnes, neodkládej na zítřek. Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Dvakrát měř, jednou řež. Measure twice, cut once. Host do domu, Bůh do domu. A guest in your home is like a God in your home. And a modified version of the above: Host do domu, hůl do ruky. If a guest comes to your home, grab a stick. Hloupý kdo dává, hloupější kdo nebere. He who gives is foolish, he who doesn't accept is even more so. Co je doma, to se počítá. What's at home, counts. Bez peněz do hospody nelez. Don't go to the pub with no money. Kdo se moc ptá, moc se dozví. He who asks too much will learn too much. Stokrát nic umořilo osla. A hundred times nothing killed the donkey. And those that Eva2 posted: Mluviti stříbro, mlčeti zlato. Speaking is silver, silence is gold. Líná huba, holé neštěstí. A lazy mouth is a sheer disaster. And many more...
In the Estonian version of this, we have to measure nine times for some reason... We have the same saying again, but with a more recent addition: Don't put today's duties off till tomorrow, for there is always the day after.
Okay, I feel dense- I'm enjoying the proverbs very much , but will someone explain what this one means: Kdo jinému jámu kopá, sám do ní padá. He who digs a hole for someone, will fall in it himself. Is this something like "watch out for yourself." Or not to be too generous?
No, the "hole" is meant as trap here. Means - if you prepare something bad for someone, it will happen to you.
Thanks guys for the proverbs! :lol: Can any one give me some actual quotes though??? Or even (if known) the person who first said one of the proverbs!!! Thanks again!
Or a classical one "Šťastná to žena" vs a modern one "Co se budu s babou párat". I think there are many and many more...
Probably "citáty". Co je to štěstí? Muška jenom zlatá! What is happiness? Just a golden little fly! hawaiianchika, if you're fine with quotes from Czech movies, we can all go wild here.
Vyhodíš-li ho dveřmi vrátí se ti oknem If you throw him through door, he returuns through window. And thats why were so many defenestrations in Czech kingdo
You guys are still giving proverbs. A quote (in this context) is a saying by someone that has lasted throughout the years. For instance, some of my favorite quotes: "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves"- Abraham Lincoln "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." – Benjamin Franklin "The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God." John F. Kennedy "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan The author of this forum is asking for famous Czech quotes.
I see - proverb = přísloví, quote = citát Here we go: Karel Čapek: Království lhářství není tam, kde se lže, ale tam, kde se lhářství akceptuje. Kingdom of lies isn't place, where people lying, but where lying is acceptable. Humor je solí země. Kdo je jím dobře prosolený, vydrží dlouho čerstvý. Humor is salt of the earth. Who is well salted, stays fresh for a long time. T. G. Masaryk: Dobrého je v řádu světa víc; ale to zlé člověk cítí silněji. There is more good things in the world than bad, but people feel bad things more intensely. Jan Neruda: Vším bych chtěl být, jen ne budoucností; co se od té, ubohé, požaduje, je už skoro nestydaté. I would like to be everything but future. It's almost shameless, what people want from it, poor thing. Bude-li každý z nás z křemene, je celý národ z kvádrů. If everyone from us will be from quartz, then all nation will be from stone blocks. Český duch může sice na čas bloudit, rozmach mohutného jeho křídla může ho zanést někdy třeba až na kraj světa, ale k pivu vrátí on se najisto vždycky zase! Czech spirit can loose its way, upswing of his mighty wing can carry it away to edge of the world, but for sure it will come back to its beer again! Karel Havlíček Borovský: Tak to chodí na tom světě každou chvíli jinák, dneska ctí tě za svatého, zítra budeš sviňák. That's the way things are it's changing all the time Today they see you as the saint tomorow you are swine Kdo sám v sebe doufá, ten nejlepší podporu naleznul. Who believe in himself found the best recourse.
I like that Reagan quote Katko. Thatś a good one for anyone I disagree with about any matter. The trouble with economists isn't that they're ignorant, it's that they know so much that isn't true. I like this quote Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed to so few by so many. I can't remember the words exactly in czech. Nikdy na poli lidské konfliktu nedlužil tak mnoho lidé tak moc tak málem.
