Proverbs and Sayings

I have been studying the Arabic Language for about half a decade now.  MSA, Egyptian and Jordanian dialects were my first encounters with the Arabic language.  However, a year and a half ago I was presented with the opportunity to study the Iraqi dialect.  While I would never say I hated anything about the Arabic language, my like for the Iraqi dialect was slow in developing.  I mean in the beginning nothing could compete with Jordanian for me and I was very reluctant to let the Iraqi dialect take hold of my Arabic. However, eventually I grew to love Iraqi just as surely as I love Jordanian dialect.  And one of the things that I have enjoyed with most in my studies of Iraqi has been the proverbs and idiomatic sayings.  I tried in vain for a long period of time to find these proverbs and sayings on the internet, and while I have managed to find some of them there just does not seem to be a comprehensive growing list for second language learners of the Iraqi dialect.  In this blog I have included my own list of proverbs and sayings which will continue to grow as I learn more.  For each proverb or saying I have included both literal meaning (if I know it) and use of the phrase. 

Good Luck in your Iraqi learning.

1.)  الدنيا مثل خيارة, واحدة بايدك و عشرة بتيزك.

            -Lit. meaning: Life is like a cucumber you get one in your hand and ten in your ass.

            -Use: For every one good thing you get ten bad things will follow.

2.)    ابرد من تيز السقّى.
-Lit. meaning: Colder than the ass of a Saqaa (A Saqaa is a person in Iraq who wades into the water in order to collect water into a jug.  Typically they tie their dishdashas above their waste and so their ass becomes cold from the temperature of the river.)

-Use: When someone is considered Cool, Calm , and Collected or does not show many emotions or is typically very quiet.

3.)    اضرب راسك بالحايط
-Lit. meaning: Go beat your head on the wall.

            -Use: Whatever, I don’t care.

4.)  اشرب من الشط
-Lit. meaning: Go drink from the River.

            -Use: Whatever, I don’t care.

5.)  اكل بوري
-Lit. meaning: He ate a faucet.
-Use: What a sucker.

6.)  شايف روحه شوفة
-Lit. meaning: He sees his soul seeing
-Use: King of the hill

7.)  نشاز بينهم
-Lit. meaning: Sticks out between them
-Use: Sticks out like a sore thumb

8.)  نفس الطاسة و نفس الحمام
-Lit. meaning: The same bowl and same bath.
-Use: Same-same, nothing has changed

9.)  كان يا ماكان في قديم الزمان
-Lit. meaning: The once was a place long ago
-Use: Once upon a time.
10.)  عباس المستعجل
-  Lit. meaning:  Abass is quick
  -Use: Impatient

11.)  يا معود (بمعود)
  -Lit. meaning: Come on!
  -Use: Dude!

12.)  گلبي مثل النار عليك
-  Lit. meaning: My heart is like fire on you.
  -Use: I am very worried about you.

 13.)  متترس عينه غير حفنة تراب
- Lit. meaning: His eyes cannot be closed with mold.
  -Use: Said of greedy people 
14.)  يبوگ الگحلة من العين
  -Lit. meaning: He can steal eyeliner from the eye
  -Use: Said of professional theif

15.)  عين غطة و عين فراش
-  Lit. meaning: An eyes is a blanket and the other a mattress
  -Use: Said to show welcome to a guest.

16.)  دير بالك على...
-  Lit. meaning: Turn your mind on…
  -Use: Take care of …

17.)  دير بالك من...
-  Lit. meaning: Turn your mind from…
  -Use: Beware…

18.)  عاس من شافك
-  Lit. meaning: Live from seeing you
  -Use: Long time no see

19.)  مو عيب
-  Lit. meaning:
  -Use: What a shame!

20.)  قابل اني زغير
-  Lit. meaning: What I am small?
  -Use: As if you think I am a child.

21.) عابت
  -Lit. meaning:
  -Use: Get out of here.

22.)  عيب عليك
-  Lit. meaning: Shame on you
  -Use: Shame on you

23.)  مشتاق لك
-  Lit. meaning: Longing for you
  -Use: I miss you

 24.)  توكل على الله
-  Lit. meaning: Depend on God
  -Use: God will help you

 25.)  من رابع المستجيلات
-  Lit. meaning: 4x's impossible
  -Use: In your dreams

26.)  راد بگحلها عماها
-  Lit. meaning: He wants to put eyeliner on an eye but he blinds it

        -Use: When someone wants to repair something but ruins it.

27.)  الف عين لاجل عين تتكرم
-  Lit. meaning: One thousand eyes for an eye be blind
  -Use:

28.)  ايده بالماعون واصابيعة بالعيون
-  Lit. meaning: His hand in a dish while his fingers in his eyes.
  -Use: Said when someone never thanks you.

29.) الدجاجة تموت و عيونها على الزبلة
  -Lit. meaning: The chicken dies and her eyes look upon rubbish.
  -Use: Said about greed people.

30.)  صارت عينه بكوكة راسة
-  Lit. meaning: His eyes become on the top of his head.
  -Use: When someone is angry or nervous.

31.)  عند البطون تعمى العيون
-  Lit. meaning: When stomachs are operating eyes become blind.
  -Use: When someone has good fortune and forgets his friends.

33.)  العين متعله على الحاجب

-  Lit. meaning: An eye cannot become above an eyebrow
  -Use: A show of respect

34.)  انت تدگ عالعصب الحساس

-  Lit. meaning: You are knocking on the nerves
  -Use:You are pressing my buttons

35.)  روح ولّي
-  Lit. meaning:

        -Use: Get Lost!

36.)  عيونه شبعانة

-        Lit. meaning: His eye is in his dish
  -Use: Said when someone is satisfied with what he has.
37.) عيونه عيون المطيرچية
-        Lit. meaning: His eyes are eyes of a Mitiyarchia (a bird watcher).
  -Use: Said of peeping toms...Watches people impatiently

38.)  هم نز و هم يدبج على السطح
-  Lit. meaning: He is not the owner yet he makes noise on the roof
  -Use: Said when someone is not welcome and noisy.

39.)  امشي شهر و لا تعبر نهر
-  Lit. meaning: Walk a month instead of crossing a river

        -Use:Take the long road to avoid the danger

40.)  جبناك عون طلعتنا فرعون
-  Lit. meaning: We bring you to help but you become like a Pharoh
  -Use: When someone comes and does more harm than good.

41.)  لو اطخه لو اكسر مخه
-  Lit. meaning: You either touch him gentle or break his skull.

        -Use:Said when a person can't deal with things moderately.

42.)  فحل التوث بالبستان هيبة
-  Lit. meaning: Mulberry tree in a garden is precious
  -Use: When a person is full of himself

43.)  التهيمة لا حكة البزونة
-  Lit. meaning: Accusation always follows the cat.

        -Use: When a problem is always accused of a problem.

44.)  اللي ميعرف يرگص يگول الگاع عوجة
-  Lit. meaning: Someone who does not know how to dance says the ground is sloping.
  -Use: Someone who always has an excuse for his faults or ignorance.

45.)  ما طول بالنحلة تمر ما جوز من شرب الخمر
-  Lit. meaning: As long as there are dates in the palm trees I will not quit drinking.

        -Use: Until the end of time I will do it.

46.)  صوچي
-  Lit. meaning: My blame
  -Use: My bad

 47.)  چفيان شر ملا عليوي
-  Lit. meaning:
  -Use: Just to avoid the punishment

48.)  حضني للتنور
-  Lit. meaning: My lap to the oven

        -Use:Go to hell

49.)  على گد لحافي امد رجلية
-  Lit. meaning: Extending my leg over the blanket.2
  -Use: Not to stretch myself too far.

50.)  يقتل الحية بيد صاحب
-  Lit. meaning: He killed the snake with a friend's hand
  -Use: Don't blame someone for your wrongs.
51.)  هنياله/هنيالك/هنيالچ/هنيالها
-  Lit. meaning:

        -Use:What a lucky (guy, girl)

52.)  يجمع راسين بالحلال
-  Lit. meaning:
  -Use:  Said of someone who brings people together in marriage.

53.)  ياربي عفوك و سترك
-  Lit. meaning: God your pardon and protection

        -Use:Said when bad things happen

54.)  الله يستر عالجميع
-  Lit. meaning: God protects all
  -Use: Response to 53

55.)  الغايب حجتة وياه
-  Lit. meaning: The absent has reason with him

        -Use: Wait he will have a good excuse with him.

56.)  خو مو فروة سبع
-  Lit. meaning: Not the lions fur coat
  -Use:

57.)  اللي ما يعرف تدابيره حنطة تاكل شعيره
-  Lit. meaning: He who can't manage his wheat himself will eat his barely.
  -Use: If you can't manage your life you will ruin it.
58.)  نارهم تاكل حطبهم
-  Lit. meaning:Their fire eats their wood.

        -Use:Don't bother with them.

59.)  اللي يدري يدري  و المايدري گضبة عدس
-  Lit. meaning: He who knows know and he who does not thinks it is a handful of Lentils
  -Use: Don't judge what you don't understand.

60.)  تالي الليل تسمع حس العياط
-  Lit. meaning: You follow the night you hear voices of screaming people
  -Use: You know the out come will be bad/Wait later...they'll be screaming.
61.)  تريد ارنب؟ اخذ ارنب...تريد غزال؟ اخذ ارنب
-  Lit. meaning:You want a rabbit, take a rabbit....you want a deer, take a rabbit.

        -Use:Take it or leave it...it is the way it is./Might is right.

62.)  خبز باب شرجي...حار و مكسب و رحيص
-  Lit. meaning: Bread of Shargi Gate...Cheap and good quality thing
  -Use:  Out of touch, in your dreams/Not gonna happen these days

63.)  هيچ صار
-  Lit. meaning:

        -Use: It became like this.

64.)  لا حظت برجيلها ولا اخذت سيد علي
-  Lit. meaning: She didn't get engaged to her man and she didn't take Ali
  -Use: Lost both in the end.

65.)  السفينة من تكثر ملاليحها تغرگ
-  Lit. meaning:When a ship increases its sailors it will sink.

        -Use:Too many chiefs, not enough Indians.

66.)  هذا اللي يرفع و هذا اللي يكبس
-  Lit. meaning: Raise it and lower it
  -Use: Too many ideas no progress

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