Thai proverbs

Proverbs from all Thai speaking parts of the world.

กระต่ายหมายจันทร์

• Transliteration: Kra-tie' mai jhun.
• A rabbit aims for the moon.
• English equivalent: Don't stretch your arms more than your sleeves can reach.
• Meaning: Don't aim at the impossibilities; get grounded.
• Winitchaikun (1987). Rattanakōsin. Bamrung Sān. 

กันไว้ดีกว่าแก้

• Transliteration: Gan wy dtee gwaa gae.
• Preventive measure is better than curative measure.
• English equivalent: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
• Dāo tǣm din. Suwīriyāsān. 1994. p. 553. 

ความลับไม่มีในโลก

• Transliteration: Kwam lub mai mee nai loke.
• There are no secrets in the world.
• English equivalent: There is nothing hidden that will not become public.
• "There are no secrets except the secrets that keep themselves."
• George Bernard Shaw, Back to Methuselah (1921)
• Thō̜ranin (2009). 12 ไม้เด็ดสูตรสําเร็จข้าราชการ. Inspire. p. 88. 

นานาจิตตัง

• Transliteration: Na na jit tung.
• All sorts of mind.
• English equivalent: There is no accounting for taste.
• "The true barbarian is he who thinks every thing barbarous but his own tastes and prejudices."
• William Hazlitt, in Characteristics, in the manner of Rochefoucauld's Maxims (1823)
• ทําอย่างไรจะปราศจากโรคและชะลอความชรา. นานมีบุคส์พับลิเคชั่น. 2007. p. 38. 

น้ำขึ้นให้รีบตัก

• Transliteration: Nam khun hai reeb tak
• When water rises, it is best to scoop it up.
• Meaning: When there is an oppertunity for something, it is best to take it.

เพื่อนกินหาง่าย เพื่อนตายหายาก

• Transliteration: Pheuuan gin haa ngaay pheuuan dtaay haa yaak.
• Friends for a meal are easy to find, friends until end of life are difficult to find.
• Meaning: It is easy to find good-weather friends in good times but hard to find real friends who stand by you in all situations of life.
• English equivalent: Remember man and keep in mind: A faithful friend is hard to find.
• พลอยแกมเพชร. Bō̜risat Sīsārā. 2009. p. 98. 

เสน่ห์ปลายจวักผัวรักจนตาย

• Transliteration: Saneh bplaay jawak phuaa rak john dtaay.
• A husband loves the charm of the ladles tip until dying.
• English equivaleny: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
• Meaning: When a wife cooks well the husband will love her until the end of life.
• Wētchāchīwa (1991). ʻAnusō̜n ngān phrarātchathān phlœ̄ng sop Nāi SērīWētchāchīwa, Mō̜. Pō̜. Chō̜., Mō̜. Wō̜. Mō̜. na mēn nāphlapphlāʻItsariyāphō̜n, Wat Thēpsirintharāwāt, wan thī20 Mokkarākhom Phō̜. Sō̜. 2534. Wētchāchīwa Family. p. 58. 

มะพร้าวตื่นดก ยาจกตื่นมี

• English equivalent: Set a beggar on horseback and he'll ride it to the devil.
• Wičhitmāttrā (1995). สํานวนไทย. p. 6. ISBN 978-974-8324-03-6. 

ลิงยังตกต้นไม้

• Transliteration: Ling yang tok ton mai.
• Even monkeys can fall off trees.
• Meaning: Anyone can fail.
• English equivalent: It is a good horse that never stumbles.
• Wičhitmāttrā (1995). สํานวนไทย. p. 578. ISBN 978-974-8324-03-6.