“Ouch! You’re pulling my leg!”
“¡Ay! ¡Me estás tomando el pelo!” (“Ouch! You’re grabbing my hair!”)
© drawing by Eva Boynton

Spanish and English Proverbs in Pictures

While living in Mexico, I heard phrases whose literal translations created odd visual images for me and confused my developing bilingual brain. For example: “Me estás tomando el pelo!” (You are grabbing my hair!”). My initial bewildered response? I checked to see if my hands were minding their business at my side.

With further explanation, I soon understood that such strange phrases were proverbios y refranes (proverbs and sayings), wise and colorful ways to make a point. In this case: “You are pulling my leg.”

As I started collecting Spanish proverbs, something else began to appear.  Oh, I saw that the essence of a proverb often translates from language to language even when the metaphors and imagery vary.

For me, someone who thinks visually, these proverbs were waiting to be translated into cartoonish illustrations that bring their wordplay to life.

1. Together is Always Better

Proverbs and sayings state a general truth and often offer advice metaphorically. Has anyone ever told you, “Two heads are better than one”?

There’s something different about this guy . . .
© drawing by Eva Boynton

How about the Spanish equivalent: “Cuatro ojos ven mas que dos” (“Four eyes see more than two”)? Whether there’s an extra head or more than two eyes, collaborating with others always helps to solve problems.

2. You Can’t Hide What’s Inside

Whether in Spanish or English, proverbs represent values people hold. They reflect shared experience and the wisdom that arises from it. For example, “Fine feathers don’t make fine birds” communicate that it’s not the elegant coat and shiny earrings that define a person, but rather what is underneath.

What banana?
© drawing by Eva Boynton

In Spanish, the feathers metaphor takes on a different form: Aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se queda (“Although the monkey is dressed in silk, she remains a monkey”). The true nature and that fuzzy monkey tail cannot be hidden by silken decoration.

3. Pay Attention or Learn Your Lesson

Proverbs and sayings touch every aspect of life. “You snooze you lose,” said a man who quickly slipped into my parking spot. That jolted me into the present after being distracted by a pretty view. The proverb had it right with its warning not to hesitate and miss an opportunity.

Zzzz..nothing to worry about…zzzz
© drawing by Eva Boynton

Maybe the raft is incredibly comfortable, but this shrimp is about to learn the same lesson—in Spanish: “Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente” (“A sleeping shrimp gets carried away by the current”). 

4. Beware of Musical Chairs

There are many English and Spanish proverbs with warnings about losing something you already have. In Spanish, “El que se fue a Sevilla, perdió su silla” (“He who left for the town of Sevilla, lost his seat.”) is a good reminder to pay attention.

I was only gone ONE minute!
© drawing by Eva Boynton

Not all proverbs are a beautiful slice of wisdom. Sometimes they can be sarcastic, to the point, and biting. If someone took my seat and chanted,  “Finders keepers, losers weepers,” I would most likely furrow my brow, cross my arms, and . . .

5. What Looks Nice Sometimes Bites

“Every rose has its thorn . . . every cowboy sings his sad, sad, song” is more than a couple of lines from an eighties song by the band Poison. “Every rose has its thorn” is also a famous proverb with advice on the nature of things—something that appears beautiful and perfect can have its sharp side.

And I thought you smelled nice!
© drawing by Eva Boynton

When I asked my husband for an example of the proverb in Spanish, he came up with, “Hasta las abejas que tienen miel, tienen aguijón” (“Even bees with honey have stingers”). He smiled and elaborated in Spanglish, “You are sweet and cute, pero cuando te enojas, tienes aguijón” (but when you are angry, you have a stinger). Perfect, I wrote that one down.

As my pen marked the page, I wondered about the significance of a rose versus a bee. What might the choice say about the culture or the language?

If you have a bilingual brain, try out some bi-visual wordplay of your own. You may find yourself feliz como una lombriz (happy as a worm) when you think in Spanish and “happy as a clam” when your clever brain turns to English. And please share the bilingual proverbs you come up with in the Comments.

Nice maracas!
© drawing by Eva Boynton

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