Enjoy dozens of witty and insightful Swedish proverbs and idioms that have been passed down from one generation to the next for hundreds of years!
- Joy and sorrow are next door neighbors.
- A hardworking man is better than a crowd of loafers.
- A word that’s been said and a stone that’s been thrown cannot be taken back.
- When the Devil grows old, he’ll become religious.
- Love is like dew that falls on both nettles and lilies.
- The bee has a sting—but honey too.
- A good man will cope on his own.
- Come and go a Swedish mile in my moccasins before you criticize who I am.
- Don’t throw away an old bucket until you know the new one holds water.
- A dear child has many names.
- Empty barrels rattle the most.
- Wisdom is in the head and not in the beard.
- Love me when I least deserve it, because that’s when I really need it.
- God gives every bird a worm, but He does not throw it into the nest.
- Everything comes round.
- Childhood memories last long.
- If there’s room in your heart, there’ll be room for an ass.
- What doesn’t kill, hardens.
- Those who wish to sing always find a song.
- Thin mosquitoes bite the worst.
- Worry often gives a small thing a large shadow.
- In spring, no one thinks of the snow that fell last year.
- The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.
- When a blind man carries a lame man, both go forward.
- Don’t cross the stream to find water.
- Worrying never did anyone any good.
- Don’t sell the pelt until you’ve killed the bear.
- It’s an easy burden that another carries.
- In a good book, the best is between the lines.
- Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours.
- An hour lost is often a year lost.
- Sweep first before your own door, before you sweep the doorsteps of your neighbors.
- The loss on the swings is won back on the merry-go-round.
- We praise in order to be praised in return.
- Advice should be viewed from behind.
- When God brings death, the Devil brings the heirs.
- We notice the faults of others and easily forget our own.
- One shouldn’t buy a pig in a sack.
- Who does not want to work in the heat will have to starve in the cold.
- Small wounds and poor friends should not be despised.
- He who cannot keep silence cannot speak.
- Even a small star shines in the darkness.
- Luck never gives: it only lends.
- One should go invited to a friend in good fortune, and uninvited in misfortune.
- Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief.
- What breaks in a moment may take years to mend.
- A hearty laugh lengthens your life.
- Self-praise has a bad smell.
- The faults of others are the best teachers.
- Eyes that do not cry, do not see.
For thousands more proverbs and words of wisdom, collected from over 40 countries, check out Proverbs from Around the World!