Want to learn English? (I)

Do you know what proverbs are? They are traditional sayings, which take the form of concise sentences and they are usually expressed in clever, witty or memorable language. In content, they tend to offer advice or make some kind of moral comment on how we should lead our lives.

Surprisingly there are proverbs in Urdu too and in all other languages as well. In Urdu they are called “Zarb-ul-imsaal”.

So what we will do is give you an equivalent in Urdu so that you may learn them quickly and you know what? We will publish the sentences and names of the readers who send us the best entries. So here are the first three proverbs:

A burnt child dreads the fire. It simply means that a person who has a bad experience concerning something will avoid it in future.

 We can use it in a sentence like this: A burnt child dreads the fire and Ahmad has already had a bad experience from buying a second-hand car. This time he says he’s buying a brand new one.

Now what about Urdu? Oh yes! We have: Doodh ka jala chaach bhi phoonk phoonk ker peeta hai. I hope you got that!

A similar proverb is: Once bitten, twice shy.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush: It is better to hold on to something that you already have, than to try to get something less attainable. You might not succeed in getting it and you might even risk losing what you have.

Sentence: We’ve decided to rent this flat, even though it’s not exactly what we’re looking for and we still have some more to go and look at. Flats to rent are scarce in this area and we’ve decided that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

In Urdu we have: Nau naqad na tairah udhaar.

And a similar proverb in English is: It is best to be on the safe side. 

A drowning man will clutch at a straw: In a desperate situation a person will grab at the slightest possibility of assistance, even though this attempt is likely to be futile.

Sentence: Junaid has been told by two cancer specialists that his father’s condition is terminal, but he refuses to accept this and has made an appointment for him to see another doctor; a drowning man will clutch at a straw.

The phrase clutch at straws is commonly used to mean to take desperate, probably futile action.

I think you’re clutching at straws by phoning the restaurant to find out if you left your purse there; I’m sure you had it in the taxi on the way home.

In Urdu we say: Doobtay ko tinkay ka sahara.

Similar: Hope springs eternal. And, while there’s life there’s hope.

Come on now. Make sentences of these proverbs and send them to us. We will publish the best ones.
 

Jashan e Aazadi Mubarak

Blessed be the sacred land,
Happy be the bounteous realm,
Symbol of high resolve, Land of Pakistan.
Blessed be thou citadel of faith.
The Order of this Sacred Land
Is the might of the brotherhood of the people.
May the nation, the country, and the State
Shine in glory everlasting.
Blessed be the goal of our ambition.
This flag of the Crescent and the Star
Leads the way to progress and perfection,
Interpreter of our past, glory of our present,
Inspiration of our future,
Symbol of Almighty's protection.

Love Pakistan

Aazadi Mubarak