Some Hindi idioms

[Meera]

Hello everyone, I found these idioms online, I'm actually not sure if they are accurate or not but I thought I would share them here.

सौ सोनार की, एक लोहार की

( A single blow of a blacksmith is equal to a hundred blows of a goldsmith.)

जान है तो जहान है

(If  there is life, then there is world)

जंगल में मोर नाचा किस ने देखा ?

(Who saw the peacock dance in the woods?)

बंदर क्या जाने अदरक का स्वाद

(what does the mokey know of the taste of ginger?)

अब पछताए होत क्या जब चिड़िया चुग गई खेत?

(What is the use of crying when the birds already ate the whole farm?)

[pcgamer]

Here is some more -

1.) Jiski laathi usi ki bhais - It means that the one who is stronger, has all the power.

2.) Thotha chanaa baaje ghana - One who know less, speaks a bit too much.

[SpiralArchitect]

1. उल्टा चोर कोतवाल को डांटे  - Literally, "the thief is scolding the policeman". It means that the person who made the mistake is trying to put the blame on the guy who caught him.

[Meera]

Thanks for sharing these!

[ghanashyam]

Sab bandar ka bepari. The person who knows bit of everything but not perfect in anything.

[pcgamer]

  On 9/25/2013 at 1:46 PM, ghanashyam said:

Sab bandar ka bepari. The person who knows bit of everything but not perfect in anything.

Well, this is something new.

Here s another one - Ek anaar ki sau bimaar ki

[SpiralArchitect]

Its actually just ek anaar sau bimaar.

एक अनार सौ बिमार in Hindi

It is used when just one thing (or very few things) are coveted by a large number of people.

[Meera]

These are really good ones! Thanks for sharing them.

[ghanashyam]

Every dog has its own day.

Har kutte ka ek din hota hai.

A favorite dialogue from many Hindi movies.

[SpiralArchitect]

Isn't it Har kutte ka din ata hai or is my memory of old Hindi movies really sketchy?

[pcgamer]

  On 9/26/2013 at 7:54 AM, SpiralArchitect said:

Its actually just ek anaar sau bimaar.

एक अनार सौ बिमार in Hindi

It is used when just one thing (or very few things) are coveted by a large number of people.

Oops. I was going to write - 'Sau sunar ki eek luhar ki'. Messed it up.

[ghanashyam]

  On 9/28/2013 at 2:50 PM, SpiralArchitect said:

Isn't it Har kutte ka din ata hai or is my memory of old Hindi movies really sketchy?

For the dogs, you should ask Dharmendraji. His famous dialogue " Kutte tere khoon pi jauanga"  and here is another idiom

" Dhobi ka kutta, na ghata ka no ghar ka" to describe a man who is ignored by all.

[SpiralArchitect]

  On 10/2/2013 at 5:16 PM, ghanashyam said:

For the dogs, you should ask Dharmendraji. His famous dialogue " Kutte tere khoon pi jauanga"  and here is another idiom

" Dhobi ka kutta, na ghata ka no ghar ka" to describe a man who is ignored by all.

Poor dogs. The Indian film industry sure seems to give them a rough time.

[pcgamer]

  On 10/2/2013 at 5:16 PM, ghanashyam said:

For the dogs, you should ask Dharmendraji. His famous dialogue " Kutte tere khoon pi jauanga"  and here is another idiom

" Dhobi ka kutta, na ghata ka no ghar ka" to describe a man who is ignored by all.

Isn't it supposed to mean the one who is in dilemma and in precarious situation?

[SpiralArchitect]

  On 10/7/2013 at 5:06 PM, wowtgp said:

Isn't it supposed to mean the one who is in dilemma and in precarious situation?

Not really. It refers to someone who has taken up more work than he can handle. A alternative would be having feet in two boats.

[Meera]

  On 10/3/2013 at 5:57 AM, SpiralArchitect said:

Poor dogs. The Indian film industry sure seems to give them a rough time.

aww It seems in idioms dogs are always bad

[pcgamer]

  On 10/8/2013 at 9:32 AM, SpiralArchitect said:

Not really. It refers to someone who has taken up more work than he can handle. A alternative would be having feet in two boats.

I am not sure about that to be honest. I have to find  a good source to know more about it.

[SpiralArchitect]

Well don't have a source for the idiom but this is something interesting related to it that I found online.

http://arunbsingh.blogspot.in/2009/09/dhobi-ka-kutta-na-ghar-ka-na-ghaat-ka.html

[SmartPea85]

I really like how a lot of sayings seem to have universal themes throughout the world, like "biting off more than you can chew", keeping your mouth shut if you don't know what you're talking about, and being a "Jack of all trades" (knowing a little about a lot).

Some of these idioms seem confusing out of context though, and I can't seem to guess what some of them mean in relation to life-lessons. Can anyone help explain what these sayings mean?

"Who has ever seen a peacock dance in the woods?"

"What does the monkey know of the taste of ginger?"

They are very intriguing, but I don't understand them.

Thanks for sharing these!

[linguaholic]

Dear SmartPea

Are you looking for the Hindi Version of those two idioms:

"Who has ever seen a peacock dance in the woods?"

"What does the monkey know of the taste of ginger?"

or are you just asking in general what the meaning of those two idioms is? I am little bit confused because I do not understand why you would post this in the 'Hindi Idioms' thread. Please clarify  :grin:

Thank you very much

kind regards

lingua

[Meera]

  On 2/14/2014 at 7:47 PM, SmartPea85 said:

I really like how a lot of sayings seem to have universal themes throughout the world, like "biting off more than you can chew", keeping your mouth shut if you don't know what you're talking about, and being a "Jack of all trades" (knowing a little about a lot).

Some of these idioms seem confusing out of context though, and I can't seem to guess what some of them mean in relation to life-lessons. Can anyone help explain what these sayings mean?

"Who has ever seen a peacock dance in the woods?"

"What does the monkey know of the taste of ginger?"

They are very intriguing, but I don't understand them.

Thanks for sharing these!

I'm not one hundred percent on this but I will try. The first one means something that everything good has to be made public, or everything has to be acclaimed by people to make it good.

The second one means like trying to make someone appreciate something they don't understand. It can also be used for someone without refined tastes who cant taste a fine thing.