សុភស ិ តែែ ែរ

Primary authors: Soneath Hor, Sody Lay and Visna Sann

others contributors: Bunreth Hor, Sinuon Mey, Navy Phim and Vathany Say

Proverbs and adages are an integral part of Khmer culture and often provide some thoughtful advice
or fundamental insight into the basic truths of life. The Khmer Institute has undertaken the task of
collecting and translating these words of wisdom into English for the benefit of the English-speaking
public and subsequent generations of overseas Cambodians.

In translating these words of wisdom, our primary consideration was the accurate preservation of their
meaning. Tone was a secondary consideration. Regrettably, we often could not translate the poetic
devices (the rhymes, rhythm, alliteration, assonance and consonance) that give these proverbs and

adages their brilliance. For instance, has been translated

“Associating with sages will bring you contentment and a life devoid of suffering.” This saying is
compelling not simply because of its prudent advice, but because of the skillful manner in which the
author expresses it. A phonetic transliteration shows the use of various poetic devices: kub kit bon-dit
sok muy che-vit ot tuk. In these less than ten words, we find alliteration, rhyme, consonance and a
distinct metrical pattern that is broken off at the end to effectively punctuate the thought.

@ with courtesy of Khmerinstitute.org

The function of great knowledge is not to simply weigh down your brain, just as a woman does
not wear costly jewelry simply to weigh herself down.

2
 Regarding consumption of the food in this world, if you are not conscious of the amount you eat
and eat wastefully without consideration for others, this will create conflict with relatives; when
you die the fire will not be enough for a normal cremation (because relatives will not help build
the funeral pyre). Overeating is poisonous because eating too much will make a stingy person of
others, including relatives.
————————-
An obvious admonition against gluttony. Overindulgence will make those around you fearful that
you will abuse their generosity, causing them to be hesitant about giving you anything. For
example, it is a Khmer custom to offer food to friends and family who visit, but one might think
twice about offering food to someone who will overindulge themselves without consideration for
others (e.g., without leaving food for other people, including the host).

Do not plan to study with the desire to become a government minister, hate and loathe this
quagmire that leads to poverty; you must study to become a farmer in order to have wealth in the
future.
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Interpretation: Be practical and do not waste your time seeking that which is unavailable to you.
This is an outdated proverb based on the fact that in the past it was virtually impossible for a non-
aristocrat to rise to the rank of minister; therefore, the belief was that common people should
spend their time focusing on work their status permitted, such as farming.

Do not sit on a basket to raise yourself; do not be boisterous while carrying goods on your
head; do not lie with your head covered waiting for good luck; do not rely upon the god of
mercy, you must work hard.
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In the first phrase, “sitting on a basket” is a metaphor for boasting about oneself; the
second phrase admonishes a person not to be boisterous while carrying goods because
when you are boisterous you risk becoming unbalanced and tipping the basket on which
your goods rest; the third and forth phrases are self-explanatory.

Do not lie waiting for death or sit waiting to become rich; embarrassment of stupidity will bring
knowledge, embarrassment of poverty will bring riches; knowing yourself as ignorant will make
you wise; do not act as if dead before you have lived, live your life then die; associate with the
learned, do not imitate those who are ignorant/evil.
 ————————-
The last word in this proverb (”peal”) means ignorant, immature, as well as evil. The word likely
has a triple meaning because the Khmer associate ignorance and immaturity with
inappropriate/evil conduct.

Do not develop the habit of being idle, wasting time that could be spent working; do not develop
the habit of keeping something for later; do not develop the habit of carelessly looking down upon
others, bringing a response (confrontation); do not develop the habit of not giving gifts to beggars
(not expressing compassion).

Blame for error always lies with those who act; those who do nothing, what do they have to be
wrong about?
————————-
Interpretation: Mistakes are an inherent part of action; only those who risk nothing and do nothing
will not make mistakes. Similar to “To err is human.”

Do not rely upon the notion that those who are rich need not exert effort or those who have fallen
need not push themselves up.
————————-
Interpretation: We dictate our own future and should not wait around for luck/fate to dictate it for
us. Do not believe that if you are rich you no longer need to work hard or if you have fallen
(literally, financially, or otherwise) that it is pointless to struggle to get back on your feet.

Do not commit evil deeds such as practicing usury; betraying your wife with a secret mistress
leads to misery.

Anger begets error, injury, waste; carelessness begets destruction.

————————-

A more common expression is Dual Translation: (1) Anger begets

error; anger begets injury; anger begets waste; and (2) Anger is wrong; anger is wicked;
anger is wasteful.
11

Anger causes lack of mindfulness, leading to impairment of work, impairment of purpose; the
nature of anger leads to impurity, error, waste, and injury caused by absent-mindedness.

12

Work hard to make a living for indolence is pointless, that way no matter your misfortunes you will
have enough to eat without asking for handouts from others. If you should have merit from a
previous life that brings you good fortune, hard work will enable you to rise to become a wealthy
tycoon.

13

Prison and keys are something to which thieves gave birth; medicinal remedies are born from
germs; sleep is born from feelings of sleepiness; people in the world are born from karma.
————————-
Karma is a principle in Buddhism that posits your present action dictates your future. That is,
accumulating merit though good deeds will bring good fortune, accumulating sin through evil
deeds will bring misfortune. Hence, your birth as a human being and the condition you are born
into, whether good or bad, are determined by your karma (the merit/sin you have accumulated
from past lives).

14

Control your temper through concentration and patience; control everyday evil/crimes through
rules/authority; those who control their hearts to reject anger deserve the greatest praise of all.
————————-
Interestingly, “tosa” means anger, while a similar word “tos” refers to criminal guilt.

15

Controlling yourself to reject feelings of love involving worldly lust and desires is like using cotton
thread to tie up an elephant, so exceedingly difficult that you should try to avoid it beforehand.
————————-
Interpretation: Try to avoid falling into forbidden passion as it will be difficult to control yourself
once you do. Worldly lust and desires can incite many evils, such as violence and murder.
16
Associating with evil people will bring you suffering.

17
Associating with sages will bring you contentment and a life devoid of suffering.

18
Seeing a tiger sleep, you assume the tiger is dead; seeing a tiger crouch, you assume the tiger is
kowtowing.
————————-
Interpretation: Things are not necessarily as you may perceive them to be. An adage used to
admonish someone for their misconceptions.

19
Seeing them go, do not fail to join them; seeing them return with goods, do not then go.
————————-
Interpretation: If you do not join something at the outset when invited to do so, do not try to do so
later only after you have witnessed the success of others.

20

Seeing that the wood is rotten, do not yet sit down. or (do not yet set your behind on it).
————————-
Literally, the proverb advises individuals to observe wood that is rotten for insects/maggots
before sitting down on it. Metaphorically, it refers to inspecting things that look suspicious.

Seeing the elephant defecate, do not strive to defecate like the elephant.
————————-
Interpretation: Do not strive to do something beyond your capability.

22

Seeing something from afar, do not yet conjecture that it is good or bad, until you see for certain
that it is black or white can you make a judgment; if you accept and act according to unsupported
speculations, you will experience unhappiness due to your mistakes.
————————-
Interpretation: Do not prejudge or act based on unconfirmed rumors or conjectures; it will only
 cause you grief.

23

Seeing the bark, you think it is the heartwood of the tree; you understand the enemy as being
your friend; the ignorant you mistake for sages; you mistake feces for flowers.
————————-
admonishment for gross misconstruction/misinterpretation of a situation

24

Bumble bees give up on stems without flowers; wild animals give up on forests that are on fire;
birds give up on trees without edible fruit; thieves who elude capture give up and throw away their
past.
————————-
Dual Interpretation: The adage is comparing a thief’s past to stems without flowers or trees
without fruit, i.e., useless, valueless; but also, to continue to elude capture, thieves must literally
“throw away” or hide their past from other people.

25

Hungry, do not yet eat; sleepy, do not yet sleep.

————————-
Phrase from a Cambodian folklore warning the protagonist to control his desires for fear that his
food has been poisoned or that he should be killed in his sleep. Used to warn others to be
cautious and stay alert.

26

When extremely hungry, anything is tasty; when extremely in love, anything is good. or (the
amount eaten depends upon the person’s hunger, the amount of wickedness depends upon the
person’s nature).

27
You do not fear the thorny plant, yet you fear the tiger.
————————-
Phrase from a Khmer story about a crippled man and a blind man. As they walk through the
forest, rather than fearing the thorny plants in his path, the blind man fears running into a tiger.
This prompts the crippled man who is riding on his shoulders to scold him for his paranoia.
Possible Interpretation: Worry about the immediate dangers rather than one that is still in the
abstract.
 The gourd sinks, broken pieces float.
————————-
Gourds usually float and broken pieces (of plates or bowls) usually sink, but there are
times when the opposite is true. This adage is used to refer to situations where the
unusual occurs. For instance, unusual changes in social structure or personal status, such
as peasants ascending to power and aristocrats toiling in poverty. It is also a reminder that
there is always a chance that the unlikely will happen.

29
Tending the water buffalo, ride the water buffalo; tending the cow, ride the cow.
————————-
Interpretation: Make use of objects at your disposal to make your job easier. Why walk when you
can ride the animals you are tending?

30
Tending feelings is truly too difficult, like tending the clouds.

31
Tend cows and buffalos with authority; tend kindness with patience.

32
Tend the generous nature by getting rid of possessions without hesitation.

33
Obsession with your family will cause you to stray from the law.
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reference to nepotism

34
Obsession with gold and silver damages your status.

35
Obsession with men jeopardizes your virginity.

36
 Obsession with women is fuel for suffering.

37
Obsession with gambling leads you to ruins.

38
Obsession with alcohol damages your memory.

39
Dual Translation: (1) Obsession with words of praise is stupid; and (2) Obsession with words of
praise will lead others to consider you stupid.

40
Obsession with words of deprecation kills off ideas.
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reference to unconstructive criticism

41

Obsession with gaining power causes a person to stink up the entire world while still alive.

42
Obsession with a belief limits your ideas.
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admonition against close-mindedness

43
Physical death is better than the death of your reputation (also “family’s reputation”).

44
Running out of ideas will put you in the dark until death.
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admonition against lack of mindfulness

45
Dead even while living, foul-smelling even while fresh.
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reference to a useless person
46
Losing a limb is better than losing your ability to communicate.

47
Losing yourself over a woman will bring misfortune for a lifetime.

48
Losing yourself over a man will ruin your reputation for a lifetime.

49
Tragedy as a result of ones own words, like a komplea fish (a type of fish that comes up to the
surface to breath and thereby becomes easy prey for people to capture).
————————-
reference to causing ones own destruction through imprudent words

50
Tragedy as a result of ones own defecation, like a kvaek (a type of bird that hunters find by
seeking out its defecation).
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reference to causing ones own destruction through immoral action