50 CommonProverbs in

English
Thisis a listof popular Englishproverbs. Proverbs are alsoknown as sayings. Proverbsgivesomeformoflifeadvice.
Everylanguageandculture has them, andmanyproverbsexist in morethanonelanguage. Itisimportant not
tomissanyofthewords in mostproverbsbecausethemeaningcanbelostifevenonewordischangedorleftout.
ThislistofEnglishproverbsincludesdefinitionsandexamples,
andismeanttoimproveEnglishvocabularyandEnglishculturalknowledge.

PROVERB Absencemakestheheartgrowfonder

Beingawayfromsomeoneorsomethingfor a periodoftimemakesyouappreciatethat
MEANING
1 person orthingmorewhenyouseethemoritagain

My father and I always miss my mother when she goes to Surabaya in

EXAMPLE
a week.

PROVERB Actionsspeaklouderthanwords.

MEANING Whatyoudoismoreimportantthanwhatyou say

2
Mr. Jokowi gives real development and improvement for Indonesia
EXAMPLE
rather than gives promise.

PROVERB A journeyof a thousandmilesbeginswith a single step

You mustbeginsomethingifyouhopetofinishit; somethingthattakes a long

MEANING
timetofinishbeginswithone step
3
EXAMPLE I have to do my homework to finish my task.

PROVERB All goodthingsmustcometoanend

MEANING Everythingends; goodtimesdon’tlastforever

4
I love my junior high school relationship with my friends. Now, I'm a
EXAMPLE
senior high school student and I feel happier with my new friends.
 PROVERB A pictureisworth a thousandwords

MEANING An imagecantell a storybetterthanwords

5
I see my childhood picture in the wall and I remember a lot of history
EXAMPLE
of my childhood.

PROVERB A watched pot neverboils

If somethingtakestimetodo, itdoesn’thelptoconstantlycheckonit. You

MEANING
justhavetogiveittime.
6
When I wait for the time of fast breaking without doing anything, time
EXAMPLE
passes very slowly.

PROVERB Beggarscan’tbechoosers

If you’re in a bad situationandsomeoneofferstohelpyou,

MEANING
7 youhavetotakewhatevertheygiveyouandshouldn’taskformore

when Didi is one of flood victims, someone comes to give some foods.
EXAMPLE
Didi should receive the food and he shoudn't ask for money.

PROVERB Beauty is in theeyeofthebeholder

MEANING Whatis “beautiful” isdifferentforeach person

8
I throw away my mother's old clothes and she is very angry with me
EXAMPLE
because she thinks the clothes is very beautiful.

PROVERB Betterlatethannever

MEANING It’sbettertofinishsomethinglatethantoneverdoitatall

When I wake up lately in the morning and I forget to do Subuh pray, I

9 10 EX
P AM
RO V EP RL B
E Birdsof a featherflocktogether
directy do Subuh pray.
MEANING Peoplewho are similarspendtimetogether

My friends and I have the same hobby and We always spend a good
EXAMPLE
time together.
PROVERB Cleanlinessisnexttogodliness

MEANING It’sgoodtobeclean. Godisclean, andyoushouldbetoo.

11
My mother always reminders me to wash my hand before eating. She
EXAMPLE
also reminders me to take a bath before pray.
 PROVERB Don’tbitethehandthatfeedsyou

12 MEANING Don’tmakesomeoneangryorhurtsomeonewhoishelpingyouorpayingforyou

My mother takes care of me, protects me, gives everything that I

EXAMPLE
need so I should be kind to her.

13 O

V Don’tcountyourchickensbeforetheyhatch.

E
P
R
R
B
14 M
O

E
V Don’tjudge a bookbyitscover
P
A
E
R
P
N
R Don’texpect a positiveresultbeforeyouactuallyseeit

O
R
IB
M
V
N Don’tputallofyoureggs in one basket
O
15 E
E
V
PROVERB Don’tputoff until tomorrowwhatyoucandotoday
Don’tputtoomanyirons in thefire
G
16 E
A
EM E A N I N G
R If youcandosomethingtoday, doit. Don’twait until tomorrow; don’tprocrastinate.
X
N Don’tjudgesomeoneorsomethingbyappearancealone
B
R
M
A
EXAMPLE Tobeasmartstudent,Ishouldstudystartfromnow.Nottomorroworanotherday.
I
B
E
M
ChikoisgoingtobuyMariaabunchofflowerswhensheagreestohaveaspecialrelationshipwith
M
N him.AlthoughHehasn'tevenspokentoheryet.
A
E
P
G

17 E
N
A
L Don’tputallofyourhopesandresourcesintoonegoalordream

X
IN Don’ttrytodotoomanythingsatthesametime; focusononethingat a time
E
A
N
I
N Thewaiterdoesn'tgivethebestservicebecausetheguestlookslikepoorperson.Inthefact,theg
M
G uestistheowneroftherestaurant.
PROVERB Easycome, easygo
E
G
P
E
MEANING Whenyoumakemoneyquickly, it’sveryeasyto lose itquickly as well
18 X
L
X My father works hard to get much money and my mother spends all of
A EXAMPLE my father money for shopping.
E
A Dinidoesn'tapplyonlyonejobbecauseshemaynotgetit.Sheapplytomanyjobsandthenthere
Rihannajuggledmanyprojectsatonce.Shecan'tbefocusonallofherprojects.Thenshelostallo
M
willbemorechancethatshewillsucceed.
fherprojects.
M
P
P
L
L
E
 PROVERB Fortune favorsthebold

Peoplewho are braveandwhotakerisks are moresuccessfulthanpeoplewho are

19 MEANING
dothingssafelyallthetime

Jono works in the foreign country with a big salary but he lives alone
and faces some problems. Kafif works in Indonesia with a small salary
EXAMPLE
but he lives with his family without any problems. Then, Jono can
save his money to be a successful entrepreneur.
PROVERB Godhelpsthosewhohelpthemselves

MEANING Don’tjustwaitforgoodthingstohappentoyou. Workhardtomakethemhappen

20 P
EXRO
AMV EP RL B
E
Mona studies hard everyday to do her Math examination. Then, she
Goodthingscometothosewhowait
gets perfect score on her examination.
MEANING If you are patient, goodthingscanhappen

Lolita faced some problems in her relationship until she was divorced
by her husband because her husband was cheating with another
EXAMPLE
woman. Lolita always be patient in every conditions. Until she meets
new man who can threat her like a queen. She is happily ever after.

21

PROVERB Honesty isthebestpolicy

MEANING It’salwaysbettertotellthetruththanitistolie
22
Andika drops his mother favorite camera. He says sorry to his mother
EXAMPLE
and tells the true story. His mother forgives him.

PROVERB Hope forthebest, preparefortheworst

In anysituation, beoptimisticabouttheresult,
MEANING
butalwaysbereadyfortheworstoutcome
23 Vinka follows the entrance examination in Brawijaya University. She is
optimist because she has prepared well to do the examination. In the
EXAMPLE
other hand, she has prepared another plan if she won't be received in
Brawijaya University.

PROVERB Womanis a ciggarette, Man is a matches

MEANING If you were a woman, pleasebe a goodwomansothatthemanwillrespectyou

24 Sheren is very kind, she always helps people who need help, besides
EXAMPLE that she is also a diligent person and has a good attitude, so she meets
a man who loves and respects her.
 PROVERB Toomuchlovewillkillyou

MEANING If youmayfalling in love in a goodportion

25 PROVERB
EXAMPLE
If
If youplaywithfire,
you can't makeyou’llgetburned
up your mind between the lover and the love you
leave behind you're headed for disaster
26 MEANING
If yougetinvolved in somethingdangerousorbeyondyourabilities,
youwillprobablyexperiencenegativeconsequences

The driver and passenger of the bus were injured because of the driver
EXAMPLE
who drove the bus recklessly and carelessly.

PROVERB If youwantsomethingdoneright, youhavetodoityourself

MEANING Don’tdependonsomeoneelsetodo a goodjob; doityourself

27 Dody is having an exam, he wants to get good grades, so he studies
EXAMPLE hard and does his own test without relying on the answers given by
his friends.

PROVERB Keepyourfriendsclose, andyourenemiescloser

If someoneisyourenemy, treatthemlike a
MEANING
friendsoyoucanbereadyiftheyevertrytobetrayyou
28
A politician always think that they will be safer if they know more
EXAMPLE
about their enemies thanknow about their friends.

PROVERB Knowledgeispower

MEANING The moreyouknow, themorepowerfulyoucanbe in differentareasofyourlife

29
valerie can solve the problem in her computer from the knowledge
EXAMPLE
he has, so she doesn't have to worry about her exam tomorrow

PROVERB Laughteristhebestmedicine.

Whenyou’re in a difficultsituation,
MEANING
laughingcanmakeiteasiertogetthroughthatsituation

30 P
EXRO
AMV EP RL B
E
victor
Like was likeson
father, sad because his grandmother died, then George came to
cheer him up with funny jokes so his sadness was reduced
31 MEANING Said when a sonissimilarto his father; also, “Like mother, likedaughter”

Crhistiano Ronaldo Junior is very good at football like his father

EXAMPLE
Christiano Ronaldo
 PROVERB Nomanisanisland

32 MEANING Nooneistrulycapableoflivingalone. We need human connectiontobehealthy

Leonor is an independent girl, but in some ways Leonor still needs

EXAMPLE
someone by her side because she can't really live alone

PROVERB Peoplewholive in glasshousesshould not throwstones

MEANING Don’tcriticizesomeoneifyou’re not perfecteither; don’tbe a hyprocrite

33
You shouldn't tell people that Jane was drinking too much wine at the
EXAMPLE
party. I saw you have a lot of cocktails.

PROVERB Practicemakesperfect

34 MEANING The moreyoudosomething, thebetteryouwillbecomeatit

I have done this assignment so many times now that I can do it with
EXAMPLE
my eyes closed

PROVERB The earlybirdgetstheworm

MEANING Peoplewhowakeupearlyorwhogettoplacesearlyhave a betterchanceofsuccess

35 P
EXRO
AMV EP RL B
E
To get good seats at the movie theater, we need to leave now and get
Bloodisthickerthanwater
there before everyone else does.
36 MEANING Family isthemostimportant

EXAMPLE

PROVERB The grassisalwaysgreenerontheotherside

MEANING Peoplealwayswantwhattheydon’thave
37
EXAMPLE
 PROVERB The pen ismightierthanthesword

If you’retryingtoconvincesomeoneofsomething, wordsandideas are

38 MEANING
strongerthanusingphysicalforce (common in politics)

EXAMPLE

PROVERB Thereisnoplacelikehome

MEANING Yourhomeisthemostcomfortableplace in theworld

39
EXAMPLE

PROVERB Thereisnosuchthing as a freelunch.

MEANING Nothingisfree. Even thethingsthat are freehave a hiddencost

40 EX
P AM
RO V EP RL B
E Thereisnotimelikethepresent

41 MEANING Don’twaittodosomething. Do itnow.

EXAMPLE

PROVERB The squeaky wheel gets the grease

MEANING The person whocomplains in a situation is more likely to get something.

42 A: “I just don’t understand why she’s received so many promotions,
EXAMPLE and I’m still at the bottom of the company!”
B: “She complains a lot. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

PROVERB Timeismoney

Don’twasteyourtimeorotherpeople’stime; also,
43 MEANING
ifyoucanuseyourtimetomakemoney in someway, youshoulddothat.

EXAMPLE Hurry up! Time is money!

PROVERB Two heads are betterthanone

44 MEANING It’seasiertodosomething as a teamthanbyyourself

I’m stuck on this project. Can you help me out? Two heads are better
EXAMPLE
than one.
 PROVERB Two wrongsdon’tmake a right

MEANING Tryingtogetrevengeonsomeonewho has hurtyouwillonlymakethingsworse

45 PROVERB
EXAMPLE
When in Rome, do as theRomansdo

46 MEANING
Whenyou are in a newplaceorsituation, trytoactlikethemajorityofpeople in
thatplaceorsituation.

A: “You’ve been eating a lot of bread and cheese on this Paris

EXAMPLE
vacation.” B: “Hey, when in Rome.”

PROVERB Whenthegoinggetstough, thetoughgetgoing

MEANING When a situationbecomesdifficult, strongpeopledon’tgiveup; theyworkharder

47
EXAMPLE

PROVERB Wherethere’ssmoke, there’sfire

MEANING If somethingseemswrong, itprobablyis; also, thereisusuallysometruthto a rumor

48
EXAMPLE

PROVERB You canlead a horsetowater, butyoucan’tmakehimdrinkit

You cantrytohelpsomeonebygivinggoodadvice,
MEANING
butyoucan’tforcethemtoacceptitorfollowit
49
EXAMPLE

PROVERB You can’talwaysgetwhatyouwant

MEANING Don’tcomplainifyoudon’tgetwhatyouwant
50
EXAMPLE