Persian people use a lot of sayings and expressions in daily life which offer advice and even sometimes have hidden meanings.
Check out these Persian proverbs and quotes below to gain some insight into Persian beliefs and ways of thinking.
Below I’ve listed famous Persian quotes, inspiring Farsi sayings and common Farsi proverbs.
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Famous Persian Quotes & Farsi Sayings In Farsi + English
Below I’ve listed the most famous quotes in Farsi as well as some common Farsi sayings and Iranian proverbs.
I’ve listed all of the Farsi quotes with English translation.
- تا زمانی که متوقف نشوید، مهم نیست که چقدر آهسته حرکت می کنید – It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you don’t stop.
- مار گزیده از ریسمان سیاه و سفید می‌ترسد – He who has been bitten by a snake is scared of a piece of string.
This Persian quote is similar to the English proverb ‘once bitten, twice shy’ which means that a person who has been hurt when trying to do something before is fearful about doing it again.
- عاقبت حق به حق‌دار می‌رسد – Eventually justice serves he who is deserving.
- بخند تا دنیا به رویت بخندد – Smile so the world smiles back.
- به جایی که ارزش رفتن داشته باشد هیچ میانبری وجود ندارد – There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
- همان تغییری باشید که میخواهید در جهان ببینید – Be the change you want to see in the world.
- همیشه به خاطر داشته باشید که اراده شما برای موفقیت از هر چیز دیگری مهم تر است – Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.
- بزرگترین خطر برای بسیاری از ما این نیست که هدف ما خیلی بزرگ است و ما به آن نمی‌رسیم، بلکه این است که خیلی کوچک است و به آن می رسیم – The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it but that it is too low and we reach it.
- بهترین زمان برای کاشت یک درخت 20 سال پیش بود. پس از آن، اکنون است – The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
- تمام عکس‌هایی که نمی‌گیرید را از دست می‌دهید – You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.
- هرگز نمی‌توانید از اقیانوس عبور کنید مگر این‌که جرئت ندیدن ساحل را داشته باشید – You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.
- هر آن‌چه که ذهن انسان بتواند تصور و باور کند، دست‌یافتنی است – Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
- شادی چیزی از پیش آماده نیست. آن از اقدامات شما نشات می‌گیرد – Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions.
- در نومیدی بسی امید است پایان شب سیه سپید است – There is much hope in hopelessness, for at the end of the dark night, there is light.
This Farsi saying about life is similar to the English version ‘the darkest hour is just before the dawn’.
- سال به سال٬ دریغ از پارسال – Year after year, we long for what we left behind the previous year.
- زنبور همیشه پشت گله – A bee is always behind the flower.
Beautiful Farsi Quotes & Persian Proverbs
Below I’ve listed a range of famous and inspirational Farsi quotes and common Persian proverbs.
These are used often in day to day life.
- ز گهواره تا گور دانش بجوی – Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.
- سالی که نکوست از بهارش پیداست – You can tell a good year from its spring.
This Persian quote means that the start of something will often tell you if it is good or not.
- جوجه ها رو آخر پاییز می شمارند – The chickens are counted at the end of the fall.
This Farsi saying means ‘wait and see how it ends’.
- تا مرد سخن نگفته باشد، علم و هنرش نهفته باشد – Until someone speaks, his virtues are hidden.
- پرسیدن عیب نیست٬ ندانستن عیب است – The shame is not in asking, shame is in not knowing.
This Farsi saying is similar to the English proverb ‘he that questions nothing, learns nothing’.
- میمون نمی‌تونه برقصه٬ میگه زمین کجه – The monkey could not dance and blamed it on the floor being crooked.
- چو استاده ای٬ دست افتاده گیر – As long as you are standing, give a hand to those who have fallen.
- نوش دارو پس از مرگ سهراب – The medicine has arrived after Sohrab’s death.
This Persian saying is used when a solution comes after the problem has already had its undesired effect.
- ۴- زخم‌شمشیر‌میرود، اما زخم زبان نه – The wound of a sword is treatable but the wound of the tongue is not.
- گر صبر کنی٬ ز غوره حلوا سازی – If you exercise patience, you may make a sweet meal out of a sour grape.
- هیچ ارزانی بی علّت نیست – Nothing is cheap for no reason.
- ماهی را هروقت از آب بگیری تازه است – Whenever you catch the fish, it is fresh.
The meaning of this Farsi quote is that it is never too late.
- صبر تلخ است٬ ولیکن بر شیرین دارد – Patience is bitter but it has a sweet fruit.
- سنگ مفت٬ گنجشک مفت – Stones are free and so are the sparrows.
This Farsi saying means ‘there’s nothing to lose’.
- فلفل نبین چه ریزه٬ بشکن ببین چه تیزه – Don’t look at the small size of the pepper, break it and see it is pretty strong.
This Farsi proverb means that a small body can often harbor a great soul.
- از اون نترس که های و هو داره؛ از اون بترس که سر به تو داره – Fear not he who makes a lot of fuss, fear he who keeps to himself.
- با یک دست نمی توان دو هندوانه بر داشت – You can’t lift two watermelons with one hand.
This Farsi proverb teaches us the power of teamwork. You’ll find it hard to do things on your own.
- هر گردی گردو نیست – Not every sphere is a walnut.
This Farsi saying means that ‘not everything that glitters is gold’.
- تا تنور داغ است نان باید پخت – Bake bread while the oven is hot.
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Famous Persian Quotes In English & Persian Sayings
Below I’ve listed some more famous Persian quotes, Farsi Iranian proverbs and Farsi sayings in English. They all have Persian origin.
- A wise man learns politeness and civility from impolite people.
- The pains you feel are messengers – listen to them.
- The Earth would die if the sun stopped kissing her.
- With a sweet tongue of kindness, you can drag an elephant by a single hair.
- Use your enemy’s hand to catch a snake.
- There are 4 things every person has more of than they know: sins, debt, years and foes.
- One finger cannot lift a pebble.
- A blind person who sees is better than a seeing person who is blind.
- A broken hand works but not a broken heart.
- When the tide of misfortune moves over you, even jelly will break your teeth.
- The wise man sits on the hole in his carpet.
- When the snake is old, the frog will tease him.
- The hand that gives is also the one that receives.
- Do a good thing and throw it in the river. You will be rewarded in the desert.
- A friend is he who gives a helping hand to his friend in distress.
- When water remains in one place, it spoils.
- A greedy man is always poor.
- To an ant, even a few drops of dew are a flood.
- He who wants a rose must respect the thorn.
- The night hides a world, but reveals a universe.
- One spark is enough to burn a hundred worlds.
- There are 3 kinds of enemy: the enemy themselves, the friends of your enemy and the enemies of your friends.
- Whoever can walk on water is probably made of straw.
- Write kindness in marble, injuries in dust.
- Work is twice done by the man in a hurry.
- The bigger a man’s head, the worse his headache.
- Friendship with a fool may turn into the hug of a bear.
- The public improves the speaker’s speech.
- Our real grave is not in the ground but in men’s hearts.
- The fool’s excuse is bigger than the mistake he made.
- The drowning man is not troubled by rain.
- Little by little the cotton thread becomes a turban.
- Look in the sky to find the moon, not in the pond.
- When fate strikes, physicians are useless.
- You may get out of one problem but then find yourself facing a bigger problem.
- The big drum only sounds good from a distance.
- If people don’t see you, they’ll forget you.
- He who sows barley cannot reap wheat.
- One diseased goat infects the flock.
- While yearning for excess, we lose the necessities.
- Silence is a sign of agreement.
- Only a heart can find the way to another heart.
- Don’t act as if you have something until you really do.
- The mud that you throw will fall on your own head.
- When a stone hits glass, the glass breaks. When glass hits a stone, the glass still breaks.
- Don’t be all sugar or the world will swallow you up. Don’t be all wormwood or the world will spit you out.
- The world is a rose, smell it and pass it on to your friends.
- Do not cut down the tree that gives you shade.
- Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.
- The halfwit spoke and the brainless believed.
- Thinking well is wise, planning well is wiser but doing well is the wisest and best of all.
- What is brought by the wind will be carried away by the wind.
Best Farsi Idioms & Farsi Expressions
Below I’ve listed the most well-known Farsi idioms and expressions. Many of these have hidden meanings.
- مرغ همسایه غاز است – The neighbor’s chicken is a goose.
This Farsi idiom is similar to the English version ‘the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence’.
- هلو٬ برو تو گلو – Oh peach, get into my throat.
This Farsi idiom is used when someone completes an easy task.
- گل و خار همیشه با هم است – No rose comes without a thorn.
This Farsi idiom means that everything that is good usually comes with something difficult too.
- دیوار موش داره٬ موش هم گوش داره – Walls have mice and the mice have ears.
This saying is similar to the English version ‘walls have ears’ which means be careful what you say as people may be listening.
- هر که بامش بیش برفش بیشتر – He who has a bigger roof gets more snow.
This Persian idiom means ‘the more you have, the more you stand to lose’.
- مثل سیبی که ازوسط نصف شده – Like an apple cut in half.
This Farsi idiom means ‘like two peas in a pod’.
- پیاز داغ را زیاد کردن – To add sauteed onions.
This Farsi idiom means ‘to exaggerate’.
- از سیر تا پیاز – From garlic to onion.
This Persian idiom means ‘from A to Z’.
- سگ صاحبشو نمیشناسه – A dog doesn’t recognize its owner.
This Farsi idiom means ‘it’s chaotic’.
- گورتو گم کن – Lose your grave.
This Farsi idiom means ‘get the hell out of here’.
Check out the videos below which feature a range of famous Persian quotes and well-known Farsi sayings & proverbs.
Thanks for reading this post on the best Farsi quotes about life, famous Farsi sayings and fascinating Farsi Iranian proverbs.
These Persian quotes & sayings give an interesting insight into the Persian beliefs and language.
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