# The most used Korean proverbs

Korean proverbs (sokdam) heard every day, with their meaning. Chosen from the Korean and English Wikiquote collections.

- 0 votes · 12 items
- Feb 3, 2022 · Seunghyun Kang
- https://even.best/en/l/1380/the-most-used-korean-proverbs

## Top 12

1. **Fixing the barn after losing the cow** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Acting only after the damage is done. Like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted.
2. **When whales fight, the shrimp's back gets broken** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The weak suffer when the powerful fight. Often used about Korea's place between great powers.
3. **If the words that go are kind, the words that come back are kind** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Treat others well and they will treat you well.
4. **Birds hear the day's words and mice hear the night's** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Be careful what you say: the walls have ears.
5. **After three years at a village school, even the dog recites poetry** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Spend long enough around something and you'll learn it. Practice makes perfect.
6. **An empty cart rattles loudly** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Those with the least substance make the most noise.
7. **Plant beans and you get beans, plant red beans and you get red beans** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — You reap what you sow.
8. **A day-old puppy doesn't fear the tiger** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The inexperienced rush in without fear. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
9. **A close neighbour is better than a distant cousin** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The people nearby help more than relatives far away.
10. **When your cousin buys land, your stomach aches** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Envy at other people's success, even family.
11. **You can know ten fathoms of water, but not one fathom of a person's heart** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — People's hearts are hard to read.
12. **You must enter the tiger's den to catch its cub** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — No risk, no reward.

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