70 Amharic Proverbs and Expressions

Here are the Amharic proverbs with the transliteration and the English meaning. 📱✨

📜 Amharic Proverbs & Their Meanings 🎯

💡 የለማኝ ቅንጡ ይላል ወተት አምጡ
🔹 Yelemagn qntu yilal wetet amtu
👉 Beggars can’t be choosers.
🫳 A picky beggar asks for milk.

💡 የስጦታ ፈረስ ጥርሱ አይታይም
🔹 Yestota feres trsu aytaym
👉 Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
🎁 If the horse was given to you as a gift, then checking its teeth to determine its age and health is inappropriate.

💡 ባጎረስኩ እጄን ተነከስኩ
🔹 Begoresku ejen tenekesku
👉 I got my hand bitten for feeding them.
🤦‍♂️ Kindness can sometimes be met with ingratitude.

💡 የሰማይ ስባሪ
🔹 Yesemay sbari
👉 Huge.
🌌 As vast as the sky.

💡 እርባና ቢስ
🔹 Erbana bis
👉 Good-for-nothing.
🚯 Worthless and useless.

💡 ጊዜ ያለፈበት
🔹 Gize yalefebet
👉 Outdated.
⏳ Something that has passed its time.

💡 ማየት ማመን ነው
🔹 Mayat mamen new
👉 Seeing is believing.
👀 You have to see it to believe it.

💡 እከክልኝ ልከክልህ
🔹 Ekeklgn lkeklh
👉 Scratch my back; I will scratch yours.
🤝 Mutual help and cooperation.

💡 የፈሰሰ ውሃ አይታፈስም
🔹 Yafesese wuha aytfesm
👉 Spilt water cannot be gathered.
💧 What’s done cannot be undone.

💡 ከፈረሱ በፊት ጋሪው
🔹 Keferesu befit gariw
👉 The cart before the horse.
🐴 Putting things in the wrong order.

💡 ልጅን ሲወዱ እስከነ ጉዱ
🔹 Ljn siwedu eskene gudu
👉 Love me, love my dog.
🐕 Accepting someone fully, including their flaws.

💡 የቸኮለች አፍስሳ ለቀመች
🔹 Yechekolech afsa leqemech
👉 Haste makes waste.
⏩ Rushing leads to mistakes.

💡 የነቶሎ ቶሎ ቤት ግድግዳው ሰንበሌጥ
🔹 Yenetolo-tolo bet gdgdaw senbeliet
👉 A house built in haste has its walls made of straw.
🏚️ Quick work often leads to poor results.

💡 የጂብ ችኩል ቀንድ ይነክሳል
🔹 Yejib chikul qend yineksal
👉 A hurried hyena bites the horn.
🐾 Rushing leads to unnecessary mistakes.

💡 ላለፈ ክረምት ቤት አይሰራም
🔹 Lalefe kremt biet ayseram
👉 Let bygones be bygone.
⏮️ Don’t dwell on the past.

💡 ገብስ ለገብስ አብሮ ይነፍስ
🔹 Gebs legebs abro yinefs
👉 Birds of a feather flock together.
🐦 Similar people tend to stick together.

💡 የሚያብረቀርቅ ሁሉ ወርቅ አይደለም
🔹 Yemibreqerq hulu werq aydelem
👉 All that glitters is not gold.
✨ Appearances can be deceiving.

💡 ከሰው ስህተት ከብረት ዝግት አይጠፋም
🔹 Kesew shtet kebret zget aytefam
👉 To err is human.
🤷 Everyone makes mistakes.

💡 ጊዜ ወርቅ ነው
🔹 Gize werq new
👉 Time is gold.
⏳ Time is precious.

💡 ልጅ እናቷን ምጥ አስተማረች
🔹 Lj enatuan mt astemarech
👉 A child teaching their mother how to give birth.
👶 Teaching someone something they already know.

💡 የሚጮህ ውሻ አይናከስም
🔹 Yemichoh wsha aynakesm
👉 A barking dog never bites.
🐕 Those who make the most noise are often the least dangerous.

💡 አይን አይኑን ያዩት ጀበና ቶሎ አይፈላም
🔹 Ayn aynun yayut jebna tolo ayfelam
👉 A watched pot never boils.
🍲 Things take time; patience is key.

💡 ለአንድ ብርቱ ሁለት መዳኒቱ
🔹 Leand brtu hulet madanitu
👉 Two minds are better than one strong mind.
🧠 Collaboration leads to better solutions.

💡 ዘር ከልጓም ይስባል
🔹 Zer kelguam ysbal
👉 Blood is thicker than water.
❤️ Family bonds are stronger than anything else.

💡 አወቅኩሽ ናቅኩሽ
🔹 Aweqkush naqkush
👉 Familiarity breeds contempt.
🤔 The more you know someone, the more you see their flaws.

💡 ታሞ ከመሟቀቅ አስቀድሞ መጠንቀቅ
🔹 Tamo kememaaqeq asqedmo metenqeq
👉 Prevention is better than cure.
🛡️ It’s better to avoid problems than to fix them.

💡 ብረትን መምታት እንደጋለ ነው።
🔹 Bretn memtat ende gale new
👉 Strike the iron while it is hot.
🔥 Take advantage of opportunities when they arise.

💡 እንቁላል ቀስ በቀስ በእግሩ ይሄዳል
🔹 Enqulal qes beqes beegru yhiedal
👉 The egg will eventually walk on its own legs.
🐢 Patience and persistence lead to success.

💡 ውሃ ቀስ በቀስ አለትን ይበሳል
🔹 Wuha qes beqes aletn ybesal
👉 Still water runs deep.
🌊 Quiet people often have deep thoughts.

💡 ውበት እንደ ተመልካቹ ነው
🔹 Wubet ende temelkachu new
👉 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
👁️ What’s beautiful to one may not be to another.

💡 ላም አለኝ በሰማይ ወተቷንም አላይ
🔹 Lam alegn besemay wetetuanm alay
👉 I have a castle built in the air.
🏰 Dreaming of unrealistic things.

💡 ቀድሞ የገባ እንግዳ እራቱ ፍሪዳ
🔹 Qedmo yageba engda eratu firid
👉 First come, first served.
⏱️ The early bird catches the worm.

💡 አጥብቆ ጠያቂ የእናቱን መሞት ይረዳል
🔹 Atbqo teyaqi yenetun mot yeredal
👉 Curiosity killed the cat.
🐱 Being too curious can lead to trouble.

💡 አሳ ጎርጓሪ ዘንዶ ያወጣል
🔹 Asa gorguari zendo yawetal
👉 The pursuit of a small gain can lead to a large loss.
🎣 The hunter becomes the hunted.

💡 ባዶ ቆርቆሮ ይጮሃል
🔹 Bado qor qoro yichohal
👉 An empty barrel makes the most noise.
🛢 Those with the least to say often talk the most.

💡 ልጅየው ሆነ አባትየው
🔹 Ljyew hone abatyew
👉 A child is the father of the man.
👶 The child shapes the adult.

💡 የወረወርኩት አንካሴ ተመልሶ በራሴ
🔹 Yewerwerkut ankase temelso berase
👉 A curse comes home to roost.
🌀 What goes around comes around.

💡 ሰው የዘራውን ያጭዳል
🔹 Sew yezema yatdal
👉 As you sow, so shall you reap.
🌱 Your actions determine your outcomes.

💡 አመድ በዱቀት ይስቃል
🔹 Amed be duqiet yisqal
👉 The pot calls the kettle black.
🍳 Criticizing others for faults you also have.

💡 ድስት ግጣሙን አያጣም
🔹 Dst gtamun aytam
👉 A pot never misses its lid.
🍲 Everything finds its place eventually.

💡 ሳይከካ ተቦካ
🔹 Saykeka teboka
👉 Counting your chickens before they hatch.
🐣 Don’t assume success before it happens.

💡 ሰርገኛ መጣ በርበሬ ቀንጥሱ
🔹 Sergegna meta berberie qentsu
👉 Starting to dig a well when you’re already thirsty.
🚰 Preparing too late.

💡 ጊዜ ታክሲ አይደለም ቆሞ አይጠብቅህም
🔹 Gize taxi aydelem qomo aytebqhm
👉 Time waits for no one.
⏰ Time keeps moving forward.

💡 ስራ ከምፈታ ልጄን ላፋታ
🔹 Sra kemfeta ljien lafata
👉 An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.
😈 Idleness leads to trouble.

💡 ዝምታ ወርቅ ነው
🔹 Zmta werq new
👉 Silence is golden.
🤫 Sometimes it’s better to stay quiet.

💡 የጭቃ ውስጥ እሾህ
🔹 Yechqa wst eshoh
👉 A snake in the grass.
🐍 A hidden danger.

💡 ሴት ሲበዛ ጎመን ጠነዛ
🔹 Siet sibeza gomen teneza
👉 Too many cooks spoil the broth.
👩‍🍳 Too many people involved can ruin things.

💡 ትእቢት ውድቀትን ትቀድማለች
🔹 Tebit wdqetn tqedmalech
👉 Pride comes before a fall.
🦚 Arrogance leads to downfall.

💡 ባንድ ድንጋይ ሁለት ወፍ
🔹 Band dngay hulet wef
👉 Kill two birds with one stone.
🪨 Achieving two goals with one action.

💡 ጉድ አንድ ሰሞን ነው
🔹 Gud and semon new
👉 Wonder lasts nine days.
📅 Excitement fades over time.

💡 ከመናገርህ በፊት አስብ
🔹 Kemenagerh befit asb
👉 Think before you speak.
🤔 Consider your words carefully.

💡 ካረጁ አይበጁ
🔹 Kareju aybeju
👉 Old men are twice children.
👴 The elderly often act like children.

💡 የአይኔ ብሌን
🔹 Yeaynie blien
👉 The apple of my eye.
🍎 Someone very dear to you.

💡 ከእጅ ወደ አፍ
🔹 Keej wede af
👉 Hand to mouth.
🍽️ Living day to day without savings.

💡 የምላስ ወለምታ
🔹 Yemlas welemta
👉 A slip of the tongue.
👅 Accidentally saying something wrong.

💡 እጅ ከፍንጅ
🔹 Ej kefnj
👉 Red-handed.
🖐️ Caught in the act of doing something wrong.

💡 በውድም በግድም
🔹 Bewdm begdm
👉 By hook or by crook.
🎣 Using any means necessary to achieve a goal.

💡 ከባለቤት አንደበት
🔹 Kebalbiet andebet
👉 Straight from the horse’s mouth.
🐴 Information directly from the source.

💡 ለቀባሪው ማርዳት
🔹 Leqebariw mardat
👉 Like telling the fish it’s in water.
🐟 Stating the obvious.

💡 እምነት የሚጣልበት
🔹 Emnet yemitalbet
👉 The salt of the earth.
🧂 Someone truly valuable and genuine.

💡 በእሳት መጫወት
🔹 Beesat mechawet
👉 Playing with fire.
🔥 Engaging in dangerous activities.

💡 አይን መግለት
🔹 Ayn meglet
👉 Coming out of one’s shell.
🐢 Becoming more open and confident.

💡 ጥልቅ ብዬ
🔹 Tlq bye
👉 Gatecrasher.
🚪 Someone who intrudes uninvited.

💡 የእርጎ ዝንብ
🔹 Yergo zinb
👉 Gatecrasher.
🐝 An unwelcome intruder.

💡 የመጽሃፍ ቀበኛ
🔹 Yemtshaf qebagna
👉 Bookworm.
📚 Someone who loves reading.

💡 የቀባሮ ባህታዊ
🔹 Yeqebero bahtawi
👉 Sly, shrewd.
🦊 Clever and cunning.

💡 ምርቱን ከግርድ ለይ
🔹 Mertun kegerd ley
👉 Separate the wheat from the chaff.
🌾 Distinguishing valuable from worthless.

💡 የአይን ፍቅር
🔹 Yeayn fqr
👉 Love at first sight.
❤️ Falling in love instantly.

💡 ክብርህን ጠብቅ
🔹 Kbrhn tebq
👉 Keep your dignity!
👑 Maintain your self-respect.

💡 እርምጃህን አስተውል
🔹 Ermjahn astewl
👉 Watch your step.
👣 Be careful in your actions.

Find more Amheric learning material at EasyAmharic.com

Source: Peace Corps Ethiopia Amharic Language Manual (LiveLingua.com)

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