Things to Translate for Conlanging

Translation Exercises

A combination of proverbs and sayings, quotes from stuff I like, song lyrics, random translation exercises I've collected, and the occasional thing I made up.

Every day brings a new sky
Never trust an expert outside their profession
The wise man is never afraid to say "I don't know" or "I was wrong"
Fair and softly go sure and far
All is not gold that glitters
Short reckonings make long friends
First be just, then you may be generous
A virtuous friendship is a secured engagement
If a spider breaks its thread twenty times, it will mend it again as often
A hasty temper may give you cause to mourn all the days of your life
To live happily, promote the happiness of others
A few words, of common, downright practical sense, timely uttered, may be enough to counteract some foolish idea or belief put into her daughter's head by others, whilst if it be left unchecked, it may take such possession of the mind that it cannot be corrected later
Truth is a rock large enough for all to stand on
Cry me a river, build me a bridge, and get over it
One story is good until another is told
Music is soul embodied in sound
Out of doubt, out of dangerous
Never say "it could be worse"
One doubt may lead to disbelief
When in motion, to push on is easy
A word before is worth two behind
Troubles are doubled by brooding on themselves
Think of ease but work on
The best way to be lazy is to be efficient - it makes all sorts of time
Perseverance is the bridge by which difficulty is overcome
Never walk one way and look another
An act is better than a word
Poor people pass around the same twenty bucks
Never leave certainty for hope
Little comforts bring much happiness
A cup must be bitter that a smile will not sweeten
When reason rules appetite obeys; when appetite commands, the pocket pays
Never grocery shop hungry
Every pea helps to fill the peck (measure)
What maintains one vice would bring up two children
Death does not blow a trumpet
As virtue is in the tree, such is the fruit
Travel north, south, east, or west, one's own house is still the best
Travel broadens the mind
Cunning men's cloaks sometimes fall
O heart! But try it once &- 'tis easy to be but to appear so, what a strain and misery
Good wares make a quick market
Every beginning is weak
The gods didn't fire the pottery
No expert fell from the sky
Just a minute. I'll see if I can find it in this book.
Rot is the punishment of neglect.
Do everything in its proper time. Keep everything to its proper use. Put everything in its proper place.
Did you use my sewing scissors?
Where is the thingamabob?
Discard nothing which may serve to nourish your own family or a poorer one.
It is better to accomplish perfectly a small amount then to half do ten times as much.
Perfection is the enemy of done.
Be temperate in all things.
Willful waste makes woeful want.
Between husband and wife, little attentions beget much love.
Whatever you may choose to give away, always be sure to keep your temper
Keep your children's feet dry and warm
Guard the foot and the head will seldom harm
Little deeds are like little seeds, they grow to flowers or to weeds.
There is a balm for every wound
Observation is the best teacher
Small beginnings may lead to large ends
Falsehood, like a nettle, stings those who meddle with it.
Ow! What bit me?
The fall of the leaf is a whisper to the living.
Never meddle with gunpowder by candle light
A hungry man sees far.
I've been through a desert on a horse with no name.
Idle folks take the most pains.
Ill-nature finds poison in the sweetest flower
Deep rivers flow with silent majesty, shallow brooks are noisy.
Never trouble another for what you can do yourself
Every recipe is the basis of many others
Help others and you're a hero too
A good suggestion is often invaluable
Try all things, hold fast to that which is good
We learn something ever by our failures
Second trials often succeed, second thoughts are often best.
A sooty chimney costs many a beefsteak
Pride costs more than hunger, thirst, or cold
Where is the bathroom?
I don't have enough money.
When did you see a doctor last?
That doctor is a crook.
You're cheating me because I'm a foreigner!
Why is your face green?
Two black cats were discussing their tails: "My tail is longer than yours", said one of them to the other.
"I don't believe you", said the other cat.
"Let's compare."
"No, I don't trust you. You always cheat."
A wink's as good as a nudge. Say no more.
Hello, I love you, won't you tell me your name?
I don't understand what you're saying. Speak Nyazchyn!
Who is watching me? Somebody is watching me.
Which flowers are yours?
This is the third time I've told you, so listen up this time.
Why are you laughing?
There will be no trouble.
This person saw it happen.
Are you not ashamed?
What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favorite color?
If you can understand this, you know too much.
Nobody remembers the names of ants.
We should have taken a walk, but it is too hot.
I want some more milk.
Give me some water, please!
As soon as the sun sets, light a fire.
This bar isn't as good as it used to be.
Yes, I heard you and no, I don't want to buy it.
The eyes are blind. One must look with the heart.
I know who I want to take me home.
We are sitting in the night, and like the night, we are silent.
Some Poisons enter through the blood. Some are ingested. Some are inhaled. All ways through which mortals draw strength are paths for poison
Of course you fight should fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire.
I have seen the future. It does not include you.
I should go
A man might gather up fruit that was falling down onto another man's farm.
Should we tell him the truth?
Tell me that I'm not crazy
We'll stay together forever.
Blame him! He's the one who didn't do his job properly.
I need to wander down another road.
Oh God, I've started smelling colors.
It's dangerous to go alone. Take this.
Be careful! These children bite.
Only brush the teeth you want to keep.
I was about to do that.
Only the wind knows where it blows.
Churn the milk to make butter.
I'm just seven hours old, truly beautiful to behold.
I was just joking.
It's not the glittering weapon that fights the fight, but rather the hero's heart.
I have a whole bucket of pebbles.
Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk to you again.
When you're done, I'll begin my lesson.
Live long and prosper.
That was a good idea! Write that down.
Even monkeys sometimes fall out of trees.
This tastes rancid. What on earth is this?
Look at the mess you've made!
Rivers give more water than rain.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend
I'll go shopping this afternoon
No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it.
Here's to a wet night and a dry morning
Here's to absent friends and twice to absent enemies
a man that can't laugh at himself should be given a mirror
character is better than wealth
better the coldness of a friend than the sweetness of an enemy
the tree remains, but not the hand that planted it
Anything you can do, I can do better
A full belly is a happy belly
I came out to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now
Let the bodies hit the floor
When you're thinking of me, I'm thinking of you too
There are four lights!
All cats are black at night
When you're fierce like me, you cast a fierce shadow
It's life, Jim, but not as we know it
Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me
Who stinks?
Why are we whispering?
What damn planet are you from?
There is no overkill, only open fire and I'm out of ammo
Did you see that? No. What was it?
Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?
You wouldn't believe what monster I saw!
Neither can I, I didn't see it myself
Find the fault in yourself so you may find the good in others
We need a translation for this.
Why is it so cold today?
He had a scary face.
The trees will flower in a few weeks
Have you finished the book?
They say that ghosts haunt there
Be careful with suspicious people
Why is there a universe? Why is there anything at all? Why isn't there just nothing? That there is not, in fact, just nothing and that there is, instead, something, and lots of it, seems as if it should be impossible, and yet: here we are!
Don't talk to me or my son ever again.
Do you want to go home?
Nobody remembers the names of ants.
We are sitting in the night, and like the night, we are silent.
The damage cannot be undone.
Mock not a cobbler for his black thumb
Night is not dork to the good, nor is day bright to the wicked
Rustle is not industry
Never open the door to a little vice
Knowledge makes humble, ignorance makes proud
A season for everything and everything in season
The hypocrite will fast to seem more holy
Do good to your enemy that he may become your friend
As a man lives so shall he die
A fool's bolt is soon shot
Knowledge talks lowly, ignorance talks loudly
Be not the first by whom the new is tried, nor yet the last to cast the old aside.
A waiting appetite kindles many a spite.
A blunt knife shows a dull wife
Who never tries cannot win the prize
Eat not to dullness, drink not to elevation
A liar should have a good memory
Begin well and end better
You have the handwriting of a drunk squirrel

Proverbs of Spain

Three helping one another will do as much as six men singly.
Other people's troubles kill the donkey.
Lock your door so that you may keep your neighbours honest.
The dead and the absent have no friends left them.
He who says much must be right sometimes.
When the devil preaches the world is coming to an end.
He who sows on sand does not reap fish.
Trouble will rain on those who are already wet.
Drinking water neither makes a man sick nor in debt no his wife a widow.
The imagination easily sees what it desires.
To reply to an evil word by another taunt is like trying to clean off dirt with mud.
Make no absolute promises, for nobody will help you perform them.
Beware of one who is always laughing, as a fool; and of one who never laughs, as a knave.
A will is even more dangerous than a doctor. More people have died because they made their will than because they were sick.
If you would be Pope. you must think of nothing else.
If you would live in health be old betimes.
I know where the shoe pinches me.
Since you know everything, and I know nothing, tell me what I dreamed this morning.
When only foolish reasons can be found, he argues best who utters not a sound.
God aids him who changes.
If you are vexed or angry you will have two troubles instead of one
Grain by grain the fowl fills her crop
He who spits against Heaven spits in his own face
I am no river, but can go back when there is reason for it
Good housekeeping makes a poor Will
He does something who sets his house on fire; he scares away the rats and warms himself
He who eats his cock alone, much catch his horse so, too
Make a bridge of silver form a flying enemy
There is a fig in Rome for him who gives not another advice before he asks for it
The greatest humiliation for a man is to give proofs that he is a man
It is the nature of women to disdain those who love them and to love those who abhor them
Tyrant kings make treacherous subjects
He who has drunk his fill soon turns his back on the fountain
The greatest thief is not he who steals because he has nothing, but he who having, gives much in order to steal more
Woman is a pill and must be gilded when she is taken
A good hope is better than a poor possession
A discreet man will always be ignorant of more than he knows
The silliest man knows his own affairs best
The husband who has suspicions of his wife gives every one the right to consider her dissolute
He will never worship the image on the altar who knew it when it was a trunk of wood in the garden
A good wife is not a wife only; who possesses her is rich with her alone
An halter will sooner come without faking any care about it than a canonship
We have most to fear from fortune when we have the largest handful of her
Beware of risking much if he who gives advice is a poor man
It is only himself that the envious man injures, for he gnaws and tortures himself, and the man he envies feels none the worse for it.
One nail drives out another
Nothing in the world is stronger than a man save his own passions
Italy to be born in, France to live in, and Spain to die in
Beauty and Chastity have always a mortal quarrel between themselves
The God is made not by him who adorns it but by him who adores it
The greater the sinner, the greater the sin
The poor magistrate is the maggot of justice
It is an exceptional greatness to utilize wise men
You cannot catch trout with dry breeches
Guests and fish stink on the third day
The will is ever the pimp of appetite
They will come for wool and go back shorn
Man, woman, and love originated fire
Even in hell one finds companionship
He whom it touches nearest always learns his injury last
The way never to grow old and grey-headed is to die young
For a marriage to be peaceful the husband should be deaf and the wife blind
Every man is good, but not for everything
To do good to scoundrels is to throw water into the sea
A wall between best preserves friendship
There is a remedy for everything but death
The creditor has always a better memory than the debtor
To make excuses before they are needed is to blame one's self
There is no ill thing in Spain but that which can speaking
On a day when you can on dry bread in your own house, do not seek to eat tender peacocks in the house of another
Wickedness is rarely at a loss for cleverness
Good breeding and money make our sons gentlemen
Any wise man can be cheated by a foolish woman
God keep him from him whom I trust, from him whom I trust not I shall keep myself
A woman's advice is of little value, and he does not take it is a fool
He who called arms and letters sisters, knew little of their family, for no lineages are so far apart as saying and doing
If you would know the worth of a ducat, go and borrow one
Barking does never have valiant teeth
God is omnipotent and money is His lieutenant
Praise the man whose bread you eat
There is no tomorrow for an asking friend
O, a wise man indeed was he, who was annoyed that his works pleased the many
A great fortune with a wife is a bed full of brambles
Jealousy will oft disclose what a thousand wiles have not
Receive your money before you give a receipt for it, and take a receipt before you pay it
Patience and shuffle the pack
To make yourself invisible... be a meddler, a gossip, a liar, a cheat, and a miser, and then nobody will want to see you more than he would the devil.
God does the cure, and the physician takes the money for it
Under a tattered cloak you will generally find a good drinker
Kings go as far as they are able, not so far as they desire to go
Every man is a fool in another man's opinion
If she tells of scorn, honour, and hate, a woman becomes the chronicler of her own story
Threatened men eat bread still (live on)
Who stands under a good tree is sheltered by a good shadow
A wise man never says, "I did not think of that."
He who finds not love finds nothing
Of the great speak neither well nor ill, for if you speak well you lie, and if ill, you place yourself in danger
When two friends have a common purse, one sings and the other weeps
He who loves you will make you weep, and who hates you may make you laugh
The master makes the house to be respected, not the house the master
We are usually the best men when we are in the worst health
Among the safest courses, the safest of all is to doubt
Your looking-glass will tell you when none of your friends will
When God ordains that one should die in the dark, as the old time saying goes, it avails nothing that one's father is a wax chandler
Great posts and offices are like the ivy on the wall which makes it look fine but ruins it
Wit without discretion is a sword in the hand of a fool
If the horse were not shod with iron, the king would not be crowned with gold
Truth and roses have thorns about them
Trust your friends today as though they would tomorrow be enemies, and bitter ones
To heap fresh kindnesses upon ungrateful men is the wisest but withal the most cruel revenge
The horse may wish to do one thing, but he who saddles him another
Neither great poverty nor great riches will hear reason
He who loves not a beautiful woman with all his five senses esteems not nature in its greatest care and its highest achievement
Though the vixen change her skin she cannot lay aside her nature
The best men came worse out of company than they went into it
Even in knowledge there should be some reserve, which may double its perfections
Compare your griefs with other men's and they will seem less
Over-greed will burst the bag
Past services are like old debts, very few are ever paid
Owe money to be paid at Easter and Lent will seem short to you
Not e'en the good is good for him who craves it not
If the dovecote lacks not food, it will lack not doves
The light of another will never light you, if you have none of your own
The doctor says there is no hope, and as he does the killing he ought to know
The wise man should do at the beginning what the fool does at the end
If the pitcher knocks the stone or the stone knocks the pitcher, it is equally bad for the pitcher
The best right is the oldest - possession
To be a courtier is to say amen to everything or hold your tongue
If love be time it is not true
To change one's mind is rather a sign of prudence than ignorance
Talk with many but feel with few
The tepid water of incredulity acts as an emetic on secrets
The father gives the dowry and God gives the woman
It is dangerous to mention ropes in the house of a man who was hanged
Little and good is what pleases
The poor man risks nothing when he meets a thief
Haste is a fool's passion
In the hum of the market there is money, but under the cherry tree there is rest
A happy death is better than a lawsuit
By the king's example the realm is ruled
It is the nature of flattery to forget the absent
Desperation is the mistress of the impossible
A woman's honour is a ship at sea without a rudder
However early you get up you cannot hasten the dawn
The ear is the postern gate of truth and the main gate of falsehood
The first step in the ladder of folly is to believe oneself wise
This tomorrow of yours lasts forever
To tell a woman everything she may not do is to tell her what she can do
It is pleasant to command, though it be only a flock of sheep
Nothing is easier than to cheat an honest man
I wept when I was born, and every day explains why
He who has nothing to give will never get his horse to trot
He who marries a widow will have a dead man's head often thrown in his dish
Only he is fortunate with woman of whom they take no notice
A wondrous fair woman is not all her husband's own
He who talks while he is fighting is the trumpeter of his honour, and trumpeters do not fight
The best soldier comes from the plough
She alone is chaste who has never been sought
Wine wears no breeches
He who would be rich has not to pile up money, but to diminish his wants
A covetous man makes a halfpenny of a farthing and a liberal man makes sixpence of it
Kings' smiles cut deeper than the edge of the sharpest sword
Who hath a wife hath also an enemy
He who will revenge every affront means not to live long
A very great beauty is either a fool or proud
A woman should be chosen by the ears, not by the eyes
Look upon a picture and a battle at a good distance
He who known he does not know is never a fool
Do not make me kiss and you will not make me sin
While a tall maid is stooping the little one has swept the house
The absent are always in fault
To "Leave my house" and "What do you want with my wife?" there is no reply
There's no bad bread to a good appetite
He who stumbles and falls not mends his pace
Fear ever goeth armed
Serve a great man and you will know what sorrow is.
If folly were pain we should have great crying out in every house
Love hath the one excuse for all the ills it works, that it is love
Wine is the tomb of memory
In matters of love and diplomacy any girl is the eternal woman
Begin in other people's way so as to end by having your own way
Permission is needless to him who has the power to take without it
Lowly ground and poorly tilled will sometimes breed a fragrant rose
When the lion is dead, even the hares will pull his mane
The wise man derives more advantages from his enemies than the fool from his friends
The fewer words, the fewer lawsuits
In a quiet woman there is either the supreme point of excellence or there are wiles
Hunger is it that puts to proof the fineness of our mortal woof
In our days they count him who swears a man rather than him whose beard is grown
Laws, like the spider's web, catch the fly and let the hawk go free
When fire and water are at war it is the fire that always dies
A coverlet of wine is good for a bad bed
Even the ass wearies of work
In revolutions it is the most powerful who incurs the greatest danger
In anger punishment smacks of vengeance
They that are bold with women are never bold with men
In this knavish world of ours he who is content is rich
In the tricky delights of love, he who is blindest sees best
Be patient ever with the powerful
In great peace, great feuds
In the school of peril dangers are lessons
In love there is no choosing
In war patience is more often of service than force
Women ever like to cover their foolishness by ingratitude
He is always right who suspects that he is always making mistakes
Knowledge without sense is twofold folly
The doctor begins where the apothecary ends, and the clergyman where the doctor ends
In a sense it is cruel for a man to console another for a sorrow that he himself has not experienced
Memory is life's clock
At twenty a man will be a peacock, at thirty a lion, at forty a camel, at fifty a serpent, at sixty a dog, at seventy a monkey, and at eighty nothing
When the larder is full, the supper is quickly cooked
Fear is the alarm clock of sleeping memory
There's always a floating piece of wood to help a blind tortoise
Jealousy knows no loyalty
He who anticipates his good fortune risks it by his presumption
The sun once stood still; the wheel of Fortune never
The day the soldier marries, he hangs up his arms, even though he goes from a little war to a greater one
Wine comforts the heart with it warmth and destroys the brain by drying it
There's nothing in the world worse than an old man with a fancy
Every one is as God made him, and oftentimes ever worse
Of the same breed are marriage and repentance
Virtue is more persecuted by the wicked than loved by the good
When failings afflict the humble they have to be dearly paid for
Women undervalue what is given to them and die for what is denied them
The rich man's babble passes for maxims in the world
When the good are rich they are like enamelled gold
Riches do not make a man rich but busy; no do they make him lord, but steward
What is well said is quickly said
That which is brief, if it be good, is good twice over
That's a wise delay which makes the road safe
One "take this" is worth two "I will give thee's"
The fool in his own house knows more than the wise man in the house of another
Love kills with golden arrows
Wine is the milk of the aged
The man is fire, the woman tow, the devil comes the coal to blow
I had rather go to heaven Sancho than to hell a governor
A bird in the hand is worth more than a bull flying
A wise man knows his own ignorance; a fool thinks he knows everything
The tree that has once grown crooked will never be straight
We talk, but God does what he pleases
The foot of the owner is the best manure for his land
I sell nothing on trust before tomorrow
Rapid resolutions are the safest if they can be soon undone
No woman is ugly when she is dressed
Fools and children always tell homely truths
Words will pay for most things
It is true that there are many good wives, but they are underground
Talking very much and lying are cousins-german
Long hair and little brains
He who makes more of you than he used to either would cheat you or needs you
Wine has two defects; if you add water to it, you ruin it; if you do not add water, it ruins you
He who trusts nobody is never deceived
The woman who obeys her husband rules him
Keep yourself from the anger of a great man, from a tumult of the mob, from fools in a narrow way, from a man that is marked from a widow that has been thrice married, from wind that comes in at a hole, and from a reconciled enemy.
The woman who is determined to be respected can be so in the midst of an army of soldiers
One cannot learn to swim in a field
When once a woman braves her husband there is thenceforward no baseness that she is not capable of committing against him
The wise man values more those who want something of him than those he has already obliged
A woman and a melon; let them be fairly ripe
Secrecy is the soul of business
If women are bad the fault is that of men
Silence is lovers' rhetoric
He who has a handsome wife, or a castle on the frontier, or a vineyard near the highway, never lacks a quarrel
Be ever the last to go over a deep river
It is well said that fortune only belongs to those her find her, and not to those who seek her
The majesty and grandeur do not lie in being a lord, but in being acknowledged one
Think more of not missing once than of hitting the mark a hundred times
Only by taste can we account for taste
He who peeps through a hole may see what will vex him
He who hath servants hath enemies which he cannot be without
The common people pardon no fault in any man
The pen is a sixth sense for the absent, because they cannot use the other five
The arguments of a king are addressed not to the understanding but to the obligation of his vassals
Blood comes by birth, vice by contagion
The rose would have been proud if it had not been born amongst thorns
It is better to be a fool with the crowd than wise by oneself
Trouble not yourself about news; it will soon grow stale, and you will have it
He who sows his land trusts in God
A friar who asks alms for God's sake, asks for two
A bad debtor never lacks excuses
Wolves devour the ass that has many owners
An old ox draws a straight furrow
Breed crows and they will pick your eyes out
Beware of silent men and of dogs that don't bark
Speaking without thinking is shooting without aiming
A smoky house, a leaky roof, and a scolding wife drive a man from home
My teeth are nearer than my kindred
It is a bad hen that feeds at home and lays abroad
At the foot of a lighthouse one finds darkness
When you aim at the rat beware of the vase
What one does, one becomes
To the rat a thief is the same as a samurai
Whoever washes an ass's head loses time and soap
The greatest booby knows most in his own house
The ills that swift we know but swifter become ills
The dearest child of all is the dead one
All those who look fools are so, and the half of those who do not as well
The recognition of one's own imperfections is very high perfection
June, July, August, and Carthagena are the four best posts of Spain
By night all cats are grey
He who loves not the loved one's faults does not truly love
A saints words and a cat's claws
Weeds are not hindered by frost
He who fears death enjoys not life
No mountain is so high that an ass loaded with gold cannot climb it
The most mixed or alloyed joy is that men take in their children
He loses all who loses the right moment
One eye on the frying pan, one on the cat
The more servants a master has, the more enemies he has
One fool makes a hundred
The beauty is sweetest which a veil hides
One cuirass serves for a hundred brawls
The diner thinks one thing, and the inn-keeper another
There are many who write good deeds in the dust; and injuries on marble
Better is a slice of bread and garlic eaten at one's own table, than a thousand dishes under another's roof
Good wine makes a bad head and a long story
A wise man knows no more to any purpose than he practices
He who would be rich in one year is hanged at the end of six months
At a good pennyworth pause awhile
Do yourself a kindness, sir. (The beggar's phrase.)
Go early to market and as late as you can to battle.

Ursula Vernon / T. Kingfisher

Be safe, and stay out of trouble - The Hidden Almanac
There was a dead girl in my aunt's bakery - first line from A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking
She was going to die because of the rutabagas - first line from Bryony and Roses
"Kingfisher writes like I would if I were using a pen name" - Ursula Vernon (from the cover of Toad Words and Other Stories)
Frogs fall out of my mouth when I talk. Toads, too. It used to be a problem - first lines from Toad Words
There are a number of smells one expects to encounter in a dungeon. Fresh rosemary generally isn’t one of them. - first line of Clockwork Boys