Albanian Proverbs

Sayings of Albanian origin

Proverbs from Albania

The weaker the argument, the stronger the words.
The sun at home warms better than the sun elsewhere.
The stomach has no windows.
The monk gets married to please his friend.
The man who has eaten enough will never believe a hungry one.
The fox will catch you with cunning, and the wolf with courage.
The end of the thief is the gallows.
Stroke the dog and he will mark you with his dirty paws.
Still pursuing, still achieving.
Plough your furrows deep while sluggards sleep, and you shall have corn to sell and to keep.
Patience is the key to paradise.
Other people’s burdens killed the ass.
One eats figs whilst the other pays.
Nobody can serve two masters.
More lambs than sheep are slaughtered.
Love is sometimes difficult but death even more so.
In times of need a pig is called uncle.
In the eyes of the mouse the cat is a lion.
If your neighbor is an early riser, you too will become one.
If you have figs in your knapsack, everyone will want to be your friend.
If you fear God, you won’t fear humans.
If you are in the house of a friend, bad times are soon forgotten.
He who leans against a big tree will always find shade.
He who is not drunk on a Sunday is not worth a greeting on Monday.
He who hesitates, regrets.
He who can read and write has four eyes.
Hard heads suffer much.
Fire, water and government know nothing of mercy.
Fire is a good slave, but a bad master.
Every man is the smith of his own fortune.
Every guest hates the others, and the host hates them all.
Even the hen looks toward heaven when she drinks.
Don’t put gold buttons on a torn coat.
Brotherly love for brotherly love, but cheese for money.
A tailless dog cannot express his joy.
A dry bone is never licked.
You can’t blame a dentist for looking down at the mouth.
You cannot turn blood into water.
You can fool an old horse once but you can’t fool him twice.
Work like a slave and eat like a gentleman.
Whoever is shy, will suffer from hunger.
Where a horse of a Turk passes the grass will not grow again.
When you have no companion, look to your walking stick.
When the cat is away, the mice will play.
When in doubt, find out.
When a hundred men call a wise man a fool, then he becomes a fool.
When a Greek shakes your hand, count your fingers after.
What the eye can’t see, the heart won’t crave.
Well begun, is half done.
To err is human; to dine, divine.
There was anguish before there was man.
The wolf loves the fog.

The Republic of Albania

Albania is a country in Southeastern Europe. It spans 28,748 square kilometres (11,100 square miles) and had a total population of 3 million people as of 2016. Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic. (Source)

Tirana is the capital and most populous city of the Republic of Albania. The city is as well the capital of the surrounding county of Tirana, one of 12 constituent counties of the country. The country’s other major cities include Vlorë, Sarandë, Shkodër, Berat, Korçë, Gjirokastër and Fier.

Albanian language is the official language of Albania and Kosovo. It is is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family spoken by over 5 million people, primarily in Albania, Kosovo and the Republic of Macedonia but also in other areas of Southern Europe in which there is an Albanian population, including Montenegro and the Preševo Valley of southern Serbia.

“Himni i Flamurit” (Hymn to the Flag) is the national anthem of Albania.