Check out other posts in this series exploring proverbs in German, Hungarian, Italian, English, Japanese, Finnish, Czech, Portuguese and Estonian.
Romanian proverbs, sayings and idioms are a great way to get in touch with history. The Romanian language is not only one of the oldest languages in Europe but also has an interesting folk culture that includes many proverbs.
In this article, we will take a look at some popular Romanian proverbs, their meanings and some examples of how they are used.
1. A-ți lua inima în dinți
Translation: To take your heart in your teeth
Meaning: It doesn't have anything to do with actually eating your most important organ. It just means that you're brave or daring enough to do something.
2. Ați lua inima în dinți și să te uzi pe picioare pentru ea
Translation: You're so brave that you'll jump into the water with your clothes on.)
Meaning: It's a way of saying that someone is very passionate about something.
Also read: How Different Are Italian and Romanian?
3. Nu are rost lucrurile de mâna a doua, dar nici nu este nevoie să pui totul la punct
Translation: There’s no need to put things straight away but it also doesn’t make sense to leave them as they are
Meaning: This Romanian proverb is used when people want to do everything at once. It means that you needn't be in a rush but also not procrastinate too much either.
4. Nu se vede întunericul din pădurii, nici tinerețea din bătrânețe
Translation: A forest can’t see the darkness within it and nor does youth show on old age)
Meaning: Youth will eventually fade away no matter how long we try and preserve it for ourselves so let's enjoy it while we still can!
5. Pe cine nu-l apasă nici o grijă nu e bolnav de nimic
Translation: He who has not a care in the world isn’t ill at all)
Meaning: If someone doesn't have any worries then they're healthy as there heart could never ache or their mind anxieties about
6. Încet-încet, toat ticking so let's frome se duc
Translation: The things we thought would last forever are worn away by time.
Meaning: Time is relentless and it will eventually wear everything down no matter what the object may be. We can't stop time so do all that we can while life is still here!
7. Oameni buni, nu vorbiți prostii!
Translation: Good people, don't talk nonsense!
Meaning: Don't utter any inanity or stupidities. Be honest and sensible with what you say because the words that we speak carry weight on how others view us as well!
8. Omul se nască, nu-și alege tatăl
Translation: People are born without choosing their father (meaning they can't choose who will be their fathers) and that's why we have so many different ethnicities in the world!
Meaning: The ethnicity of an individual is something beyond our control and it may not even have anything to do with how one was raised by his parents or society. Most likely though, there are other influences like genetics that determine what ethnic group someone belongs to.
9. Înjuraturile o să zboare peste capul nostru
Translation: Bad words will fly over our heads
Meaning: The anger we feel is fleeting so why waste it? It's better to keep that kind of energy for when there are more important things to be angry about.