Read seven documented Kurdish sayings with original wording, clear translations and source references. These Kurmanji and Sorani examples show how imagery, exaggeration and context shape a proverb’s meaning.
How to use this selection
The earlier version offered twenty English sayings without individual source references. This revision gives a smaller, traceable selection. Kurdish originals remain visible in every language version, so a reader can distinguish an inherited expression from its translation and our explanatory wording. The table contains Kurmanji examples; the Sorani example is identified separately. These are documented forms, not a claim that every Kurdish speaker uses identical words or that the expressions originated exclusively among Kurds.
Six Kurmanji examples
The wording below follows examples in Mustafa Öztürk’s study. The English translations are prepared for this page; the final column gives printed page numbers. [1]
| Kurmanji original | Plain English meaning | Printed page |
|---|---|---|
| Gûzek gûzek dibe dîzek. | Walnut by walnut, a pot fills: small additions accumulate. | 323 |
| Aqilê sivik, barê giran e. | A light mind is a heavy burden: poor judgement has costs. | 327 |
| Qencî, nayê jibîrkirin. | Kindness is not forgotten. | 327 |
| Tu xwe nepesinîne, bila xelk te bipesinîne. | Do not praise yourself; let others praise you. | 327 |
| Dostanî ji bo roja reş e. | Friendship is for the dark day: support matters in hardship. | 327 |
| Dinya ne bi zorê ye, bi dorê ye. | The world runs by turns, not by force: fortunes change. | 324 |
A Sorani example: sweet speech and a snake
Muhedeen and Ahmed reproduce a saying in their discussion of overstatement, citing MacKenzie: be ziman-î şirin … mar le kun(d)-ê-t-e der. In plain English: gentle speech can draw a snake from its hole. The spaced form is their linguistic transcription, with grammatical divisions, not a proposed Kurmanji spelling. Their reading treats the unlikely image as emphasis on effective speech, rather than a literal claim about controlling snakes. [2]
A proverb is a viewpoint, not a universal rule
Öztürk discusses contradictions among proverbs, including the contrast between statements favouring force and the saying about taking turns. He also considers literal and figurative meanings. [1] Muhedeen and Ahmed’s public abstract describes seven examples of overstatement in their selected material. [2] Those are two useful reading tools: ask what the words depict and what a speaker is doing with them. A proverb may warn, encourage, tease, criticise or justify a choice. Its use in an argument does not make the argument true.
Keeping a family or regional version
For a useful personal record, write down the exact wording, language variety, place, approximate date and the situation in which it was said. Record the speaker’s name only with consent; keep uncertainty where recollection is incomplete. Add a literal translation before a freer explanation, and retain alternative wordings as variants. Do not invent an ancient author, a date of origin or a lost manuscript to make a familiar line sound more authoritative. The source reference is where this selection documents a form, not proof of its first-ever utterance.
Sources and further reading
- Mustafa Öztürk, Vekolînek Derbarê Gotinên Peşiyan Ên Kurmancî De, Mukaddime 6/2 (2015), pp. 319–337, DOI 10.19059/mukaddime.41763; examples on pp. 323, 324 and 327.
- Bekhal Latif Muhedeen and Shayma Mahmud Ahmed, A Pragmatic Study of Overstatement in Kurdish Proverbs, Journal of University of Raparin 10/3 (2023), pp. 45–71, DOI 10.26750/Vol(10).No(3).Paper3; public abstract and indexed original p. 61.
- MikaelF, Mala Dengbêjan Amed 2010; Wikimedia Commons photograph, CC BY-SA 3.0.