Proverbs (Manipuri: {{Script|Latn|Paorou[1]) in Meitei language (officially called Manipuri language) are usually short, well-known terse and vigorously expressive sayings, stating general truths as well as advices. These are the intangible cultural heritages of Meitei civilization, playing crucial roles in the classicism in Meitei culture.
| Meitei language proverbs | English language translations | Applications (if any) | English equivalents (if any) | Note(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Meitei script | In Eastern Nagari script | In Romanization | |||||
| Will a tiger give birth to a cat? | [2] | ||||||
| A man who wants to wash, gains his end when the bridge breaks. | A man may sometimes get what he wants by an accident. | [3] | |||||
| Wear the ring which suits your business. | Cut your coat according to your cloth. | ||||||
| A short man tries to reach the Moon. | It applies to an over ambitious man. | ||||||
| It is like putting a handle to a light measure. | It applies to anyone doing a useless action. | The meruk is a measure weighing about 10 chittacks, for which no handle is necessary. | |||||
| It is like showing your fist in the dark. | It replies to a coward. | ||||||
| You might as well put a small oilseed on the horns of a buffalo. | It applies to any impossible action. | ||||||
| You are like the man who gropes for a thing in the dark. | It applies to any one undertaking what he cannot perform. | [4] | |||||
| You act like children playing with dolls. | It applies to persons who trifle with important business. | ||||||
| Show a looking-glass to a blind man. | It applies to a person who pretends to understand something which he is ignorant of. | ||||||
| Give a comb to a saint (who is bald). | It applies to a person giving an inappropriate present. | ||||||
| You light the lamps when the meeting is over. | It applies to any one who does not act in time. | Lock the stable door when the horse is out. | |||||
| You keep watch after the thief has carried off your property. | |||||||
| You show fight after receiving a caning. | [5] | ||||||
| A young elephant does not understand the rope. | It applies to giving any one a task which he cannot perform. | ||||||
| Like the poor man's last fowl which has taken to the forests. | It applies to the loss of anything greatly valued by owner. | ||||||
| Does a prater merely by talking create wisdom? (Talking does not make a wise man) | |||||||
| A snake goes straight into its hole. | Don't beat about the bush. | ||||||
| Send an eel into another eel's hole. | Set a thief to catch a thief. | ||||||
| You might as well put a ring on a cat's tail. | It applies to a person who attempts an impossible action. | ||||||
| You are throwing flesh into the tiger's mouth. | It applies to a person who trusts a dishonest person with his property. | ||||||
| The lotus flowers in the middle of the mud. | It applies to anyone who from a low origin rises to eminence. | [6] | |||||
| You are like the man who loses his way in an open place. | It applies to a person who throws away a good chance. | ||||||
| You try to build a wall with soft mud. | It applies to any useless undertaking. | ||||||
| You are like the man who breaks into an ant-hole. | It applies to anyone who acts incautiously. | ||||||
| You are like a man who attacks a bee-hive. | It applies to any one who acts incautiously. | ||||||
| You see the dirt in another man's eye, but do not see the dirt in your own eye. | Like the Bible parable of the man who sees the mote in his brother's eye, but fails to see the beam in his own eye. | ||||||
| You cannot deprive a tiger of its spots. | Can a leopard change its spots ? | ||||||
| A cat cannot keep quiet while the cooking pot is near. | Never trust a doubtful character. | [7] | |||||
| You cannot hide gold in a rag. | An able man is sure of promotion. | ||||||
| He is like the dog which bites without barking. | It applies to a man who speaks ill of you behind your back. | ||||||