Пословицы на английском языке с переводом и комментарием, посвященные словам и делам (поступкам).
Actions speak louder than words.
Fine words butter no parsnips.
Дерево смотри в плодах, человека в делах.
(It is what people do that really matters, not just what they say.)
Deeds, not words.
Дело знай, а попусту не бай!
Языком не торопись, а делом не ленись.
(A person is known and judged more by his actions than by what he says.)
Avoid a questioner, for he is also a tattler.
Кто слушает, тот и скушает,
С болтунами держи язык за зубами.
(A person who asks a lot of questions wiU waste no time in passing your answers on to other people, however confidential they may be.)
As you make your bed, so you must lie in it.
Как постелешь, так и поспишь.
(Should you make your bed badly, you will probably have an uncomfortable night, for which you will have only yourself to blame.)
As you sow, so shall you reap.
Как ручки сделали, так спинка износит.
На что зубы скалил, то на себя и напялил.
(All of us are responsible for the consequences of our actions, so we must put up with them.)
Burn not your house to fright the mouse away.
Take not a musket to kill a butterfly.
Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.
Из пушки да по воробьям.
За мухой не угоняешься с обухом.
За мухой — не с обухом, за комаром — не с кнутом.
(Don’t take extreme measures to get rid of something quite trivial. Don’t turn a trifling matter into a major disaster.)
Bad news travels fast.
Ill news comes apace.
(this is the old version of ‘bad news travels fast’)
Худые вести не лежат на месте.
Добрая слава лежит, а худая бежит.
(Bad news nearly always reaches us more quickly than good news.)
The bait hides the hook.
Стол поставят, так и работать заставят.
Не поддавайся на пчёлкин медок, у неё жальце в запасе.
Приветлив стлать, да жёстко спать.
(Beware of an attractive offer, for there is very likely to be a catch in it. It is the hook that catches the fish, but it is the bait that tempts it to take the hook into its mouth.)
Barking dogs seldom bite.
Кто много грозит, тот мало вредит.
Не всё бьет, что гремит.
(A man who utters threats in a loud voice need not be taken seriously. When a dog barks at you, this does not necessarily mean that it intends to bite you. It may be just excited or frightened of you.)
A door must be either shut or open.
И хочется, и колется, и матушка не велит.
Думай двояко, а делай одинако.
(You cannot have it shut and open at the same time. You must have one thing or the other, so make up your mind which you want.)
Don’t tell tales out of school.
Чужой тайны не поверяй (не продавай).
(Don’t make public anything that should be kept private. Don’t try to keep on good terms with somebody by betraying other people.)
No names, no pack drill.
Говори, да не проговаривайся!
Кто станет доносить, тому головы не сносить.
(This is an Army saying. Pack drill is a form of punishment for offences against military discipline. Should a soldier have committed such an offence, and the authorities be unable to find out who did it, he will probably escape pack drill if all his comrades pretend complete ignorance of the matter.)
Don’t wash your dirty linen in public.
Dirty linen should be washed at home.
Из избы copy не выноси (a смети да в уголок сгреби).
(You should not discuss intimate family matters in public, especially if they are of a shameful nature.)
Don’t take your harp to the party.
Harp not for ever on the same string.
Not good is it to harp on the frayed string.
Про одни дрожди не говорят трожди.
Затвердила сорока Якова одно про всякого.
Наладила песню, так хоть тресни.
На уши оскомину набить.
(Don’t keep on talking about the same thing or bringing up the same subject.)
It is useless to flog a dead horse.
Далась тебе эта песня. Хоть бы худое, да другое (иное).
(It is a waste of time to try to revive interest in a worn-out or forgotten subject, or to argue about something that was settled long ago.)
Empty vessels make the most sound.
В пустой бочке и звону много.
(Here ‘vessels’ are buckets, oil-drums and petrol-cans, which, when struck, make more noise when they are empty than when they are full. Empty-headed persons are always the most talkative and noisy.)
Easier said than done.
Скоро-то говорится, а не скоро делается.
Скоро сказано, кабы да сделано.
(It is easier to talk about doing a thing than it is to do it.)
Saying is one thing and doing another.
За твоим языком не поспеешь босиком.
На словах — что на санях, а на деле — что в яме.
(It is easier to give advice than to put it into practice.)
A fault confessed is half redressed.
Повиниться — что богу помолиться.
(If you have done something wrong and admit to it, you have gone a long way towards putting things right again.)
Full of courtesy, full of craft.
Коли птицу ловят, так её сахаром кормят.
(Beware of a man who is too extravagantly polite, for he is probably trying to cheat you.)
Many kiss the hand they wish to cut off.
На языке медок, а на сердце ледок.
(Don’t be deceived by mere politeness, as people are often polite to those they intend to harm.)
The greatest talkers are the least doers.
They brag most who can do the least.
Кто языком штурмует, не много навоюет.
Худое колесо больше (пуще) скрыпит.
(Those who talk the most do less than anybody else.)
A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds.
He та хозяйка, которая говорит, а та, которая щи варит.
(If a man does nothing but talk, he produces nothing of value.)
He cannot speak well that cannot hold his tongue.
Speech is silver, silence is golden.
Silence is golden.
Кстати промолчать, что большое слово сказать.
Умей вовремя сказать, вовремя смолчать.
Много баить не подобает.
(Silence is valuable at times when to speak would do more harm than good.)
Praise without profit puts ittle in the pot.
Из похвалы шубы не шьёшь.
(When people speak kindly of what you have done, it is of no real advantage to you unless they show their appreciation in a more material way. Flattery does not fill the belly.)
He who gives fair words feeds you with an empty spoon.
Похвалы не кормят, не греют, He всё то варится, что говорится.
(We gain nothing from being flattered.)
Least said, soonest mended.
Что дальше (больше) разбирать, то хуже.
(Long explanations and apologies are of little use and tend to make matters worse.)
Light not a candle to the sun.
Против ясности спорить — только вздорить.
(Don’t try to explain the obvious.)
Open confession is good for the soul.
Признался, так и поквитался (рассчитался).
Виноват да повинен — богу не противен.
(A guilty secret is hard to bear. The more we try to forget it, the more we are reminded of it. But once we have openly confessed it and brought it out into the open, we are happy again and mentally at peace.)
Still waters run deep.
В тихой воде омуты глубоки.
Понурая свинка глубок корень роет.
(The fact that a man says little does not mean that he does not think profoundly, whilst those who talk the most max have no depth of feeling.)
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
Слово не обух, в лоб не бьёт.
(However much one person insults another, he causes him physical injury at all.)
There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.
Молчанкой никого не обидишь.
Кто молчит, не грешит.
(Sometimes it is prudent to say nothing, especially in consideration for other people’s feelings.)
The tongue is not steel, yet it cuts.
Words cut more than swords.
Слово не стрела, а сердце сквозит (язвит).
Слово не стрела, а разит.
He ножа бойся, а языка.
(A sharp tongue wounds. If you don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, do not speak too harshly.)
There is no —— without fire.
Where there is —— there is fire.
Ни огня без дыма, ни дыма без огня.
Нет дыму без огня.
(This refers to rumours, the argument being that all rumours are based on fact; that although some may doubt the accuracy of a report that is passing from mouth to mouth, there must be some truth in it, however little.)
A word spoken is past recalling.
When the word is out it belongs to another.
Слово не воробей: вылетит, так не поймаешь.
Выстрелив, пулю не схватишь, а слово, сказав, не поймаешь.
Ино плюнешь, да и то на лету не перехватишь.
(Once you have said a thing, it is too late to regret having said it.)
What’s done cannot be undone.
Things done cannot be undone.
Насечёшь тяпкой, не сотрёшь тряпкой.
Скажешь — не воротишь, напишешь — не сотрёшь, отрубишь — не приставишь.
(It is too late to regret an action after it has been performed.)