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Turkish Proverbs: Some samples from the
ensuing pages:
 03
Acı
patlıcana kırağı çalmaz. transl.
"A bitter eggplant is immune to frost." "Frost cannot harm a bitter
eggplant." meaning: (usually by way of a wry sort of self-boasting and self-boosting)
the person in question
is tough and hardened by experience; he is not/cannot be easily harmed;
he can easily withstand existing or probable assaults/misfortunes.
08
Adı(mız) çıkmış dokuza, inmez sekize (or, çıkmış beşe, inmez üçe).
Give a
dog a bad name and hang him. [However, this proverb is not synonymous
with "Adamın canı çıkacağına canı çıksın." Here, a certain amount of
protest and a curious sort of pride and boasting are involved.]
16
Alçak
yerde yatma sel alır, yüksek yerde yatma yel alır.
transl: Do not spend the night on low ground lest a flood
wash you away; do not spend the night on high ground lest a storm sweep
you off. meaning: Be wise, judicious and provident
in your plans and actions; a calculated moderation is the best plan.
19
Alışmış kudurmuştan beterdir.
transl: The addict is more desperate and dangerous than
the rabid. ("Addiction" here has no special reference to drugs; it
merely amplifies the idea of "being used to".) A similar proverb says,
"Can çıkmayınca huy çıkmaz." meaning: Bents and habits
live on till one's dying moment, implying, usually as a negative
comment, that it is futile to expect an improvement.
24
Arayan
mevlasını da bulur, belasını da.
meaning: One ends up with what one seeks, whether it
be good or evil. (I have noticed that this is translated by some as "He
that seeks finds." However, the sense is quite different from the
Biblical "For every one that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds;
and to him that knocks, it shall be opened." The Turkish proverb is
normally used as a warning or as an after-judgement in the disapproving
sense of "You/He got what you/he deserved.")
29
Atı alan Üsküdar'ı geçti.
(colloq: "Ohooo! Atı alan (çoktaaan) Üsküdar'ı
geçti.") Shown in several sources as the Turkish equivalent of "It's no
use closing the stable door after the horse has bolted." However, the
Turkish proverb basically says, "It is too late to do anything about it;
you have missed your chance because you have tarried too long."
Thus, the emphasis is on "a chance missed due to procrastination" rather
than "a mishap due to lack of sufficient precautions".
44
Bekâra karı boşamak kolay.
(or, ....kolay gelir.) trans: It is an easy matter for a
bachelor to divorce his wife. meaning: You cannot
appreciate the predicament another person is in just by looking on from
outside; you cannot appreciate it unless you are in the same fix
yourself. |
Doç. Dr.
Yalçın İzbul (2009)
