IdiomAnimals
Arabic
Arabicالجمل ما يشوف عوجة رقبته (Al-jamal mā yshūf 'awjat raqabatuh)
Meaning: People are blind to their own faults.
Literally: The camel can't see the bend in its own neck
Example: “ينتقد تأخر الآخرين وهو دائمًا متأخر؛ الجمل ما يشوف عوجة رقبته.” — He criticizes others for being late when he always is; that's the pot calling the kettle black.
English equivalent: The pot calling the kettle black
Equivalents in other languages
Hungarian: Bagoly mondja verébnek, hogy nagyfejű Literally: The owl tells the sparrow it's big-headed
French: C'est l'hôpital qui se fout de la charité Literally: It's the hospital making fun of the charity ward
Spanish: cachicamo diciéndole a morrocoy conchudo Literally: Armadillo telling tortoise shell-backed
German: ein Esel schimpft den andern Langohr Literally: One donkey scolds the other long-ear
Portuguese: sujo falando do mal lavado Literally: Dirty speaking of the badly washed- French: La paille et la poutre Literally: The straw and the beam
English: the pot calling the kettle black- Spanish: Dijo la sartén al cazo Literally: Said the frying pan to the saucepan
Italian: Il bue che dice cornuto all'asino Literally: The ox calling the donkey "horned"
Japanese: 目くそ鼻くそを笑う (Mekuso hanakuso o warau) Literally: Eye gunk laughs at nose gunk
Korean: 똥 묻은 개가 겨 묻은 개 나무란다 (Ttong mudeun gaega gyeo mudeun gae namuranda) Literally: The dog with dung on it scolds the dog with chaff on it
Dutch: De pot verwijt de ketel dat hij zwart is Literally: The pot reproaches the kettle for being black
Polish: Przyganiał kocioł garnkowi Literally: The cauldron scolded the pot- Portuguese: Diz o roto ao nu: porque não te vestes tu? Literally: Says the ragged man to the naked one: why don't you get dressed?
Russian: Чья бы корова мычала, а твоя бы молчала (Ch'ya by korova mychala, a tvoya by molchala) Literally: Anyone's cow might moo, but yours should keep quiet
Turkish: Tencere dibin kara, seninki benden kara Literally: "Pot, your bottom is black!" "Yours is blacker than mine."
Chinese: 五十步笑百步 (Wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù) Literally: Fifty paces laughing at a hundred paces
Origin: A camel's long neck is crooked, but the camel cannot see it, though everyone else can. The proverb, common in Gulf and Levantine Arabic, is said of someone who criticizes others' faults while blind to his own. No first use is documented.
More Arabic idioms
- تمخض الجبل فولد فأرا (tamakhaḍa al-jabalu fa-walada fa'ran) A huge fuss producing a tiny result.
- يضرب في حديد بارد (yadrib fi hadid barid) To waste effort on a hopeless task.
- القرد بعين أمه غزال (al-qird bi-ʿayn ummihi ghazāl) Parents see their children as beautiful no matter what.
- اللي ما يعرف الصقر يشويه (illi ma yaʿrif al-ṣaqr yishwīh) Failing to recognize something valuable and destroying it.
- على قد لحافك مد رجليك (ʿalā qadd liḥāfik midd rijlayk) Live within your means.
- رمى بنفسه في التهلكة (ramā bi-nafsihi fī at-tahluka) Someone deliberately puts themselves in danger or a hopeless situation through recklessne…
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