Khmer Proverbs and Adages

Do not plan to study with the desire to become a government minister, hate and loathe this quagmire that leads to poverty; you must study to become a farmer in order to have wealth in the future.
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Interpretation: Be practical and do not waste your time seeking that which is unavailable to you. This is an outdated proverb based on the fact that in the past it was virtually impossible for a non-aristocrat to rise to the rank of minister; therefore, the belief was that common people should spend their time focusing on work their status permitted, such as farming.

The function of great knowledge is not to simply weigh down your brain, just as a woman does not wear costly jewelry simply to weigh herself down.

Do not sit on a basket to raise yourself; do not be boisterous while carrying goods on your head; do not lie with your head covered waiting for good luck; do not rely upon the god of mercy, you must work hard.
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In the first phrase, "sitting on a basket" is a metaphor for boasting about oneself; the second phrase admonishes a person not to be boisterous while carrying goods because when you are boisterous you risk becoming unbalanced and tipping the basket on which your goods rest; the third and forth phrases are self-explanatory.

Work hard to make a living for indolence is pointless, that way no matter your misfortunes you will have enough to eat without asking for handouts from others. If you should have merit from a previous life that brings you good fortune, hard work will enable you to rise to become a wealthy tycoon.

Prison and keys are something to which thieves gave birth; medicinal remedies are born from germs; sleep is born from feelings of sleepiness; people in the world are born from karma.
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Karma is a principle in Buddhism that posits your present action dictates your future. That is, accumulating merit though good deeds will bring good fortune, accumulating sin through evil deeds will bring misfortune. Hence, your birth as a human being and the condition you are born into, whether good or bad, are determined by your karma (the merit/sin you have accumulated from past lives).

Controlling yourself to reject feelings of love involving worldly lust and desires is like using cotton thread to tie up an elephant, so exceedingly difficult that you should try to avoid it beforehand.
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Interpretation: Try to avoid falling into forbidden passion as it will be difficult to control yourself once you do. Worldly lust and desires can incite many evils, such as violence and murder.

Seeing something from afar, do not yet conjecture that it is good or bad, until you see for certain that it is black or white can you make a judgment; if you accept and act according to unsupported speculations, you will experience unhappiness due to your mistakes.
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Interpretation: Do not prejudge or act based on unconfirmed rumors or conjectures; it will only cause you grief.

Seeing the bark, you think it is the heartwood of the tree; you understand the enemy as being your friend; the ignorant you mistake for sages; you mistake feces for flowers.
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admonishment for gross misconstruction/misinterpretation of a situation

Blame for error always lies with those who act; those who do nothing, what do they have to be wrong about?
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Interpretation: Mistakes are an inherent part of action; only those who risk nothing and do nothing will not make mistakes. Similar to "To err is human."

Seeing them go, do not fail to join them; seeing them return with goods, do not then go.
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Interpretation: If you do not join something at the outset when invited to do so, do not try to do so later only after you have witnessed the success of others.

Hungry, do not yet eat; sleepy, do not yet sleep.
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Phrase from a Cambodian folklore warning the protagonist to control his desires for fear that his food has been poisoned or that he should be killed in his sleep. Used to warn others to be cautious and stay alert.

When extremely hungry, anything is tasty; when extremely in love, anything is good. or (the amount eaten depends upon the person's hunger, the amount of wickedness depends upon the person's nature).

Tending feelings is truly too difficult, like tending the clouds.

Tend the generous nature by getting rid of possessions without hesitation.

Obsession with gold and silver damages your status.

Obsession with men jeopardizes your virginity.

Obsession with women is fuel for suffering.

Obsession with gambling leads you to ruins.

Obsession with alcohol damages your memory.

Dual Translation: (1) Obsession with words of praise is stupid; and (2) Obsession with words of praise will lead others to consider you stupid.

Obsession with words of deprecation kills off ideas.
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reference to unconstructive criticism

Physical death is better than the death of your reputation (also "family's reputation").

Dead even while living, foul-smelling even while fresh.
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reference to a useless person

Losing a limb is better than losing your ability to communicate.

Losing yourself over a woman will bring misfortune for a lifetime.

 Losing yourself over a man will ruin your reputation for a lifetime.

Tragedy as a result of ones own defecation, like a kvaek (a type of bird that hunters find by seeking out its defecation).
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reference to causing ones own destruction through immoral action


Reference: Khmer Institute www.khmerinstitute.org