Proverb definition. We define what a proverb is

“Proverbs and sayings are both useful and dangerous,
like any other stereotypes"

Quick explanation

Proverb- this is a whole sentence with meaning, and saying- only beautiful phrase or phrase. This is the main feature that distinguishes proverbs from sayings.

A proverb contains a moral, a sign, a warning, or an instruction. A saying is simply an eloquent expression that can be easily replaced with other words.

Examples

Proverbs and sayings are often confused

On the Internet they often write “Proverbs and sayings”, and at the same time they mean only proverbs.

Most often, sites provide a list of “Proverbs and sayings”, which in fact only contain proverbs. Very rarely, some sayings may appear in such lists. It is not uncommon to find a list of proverbs entitled as a list of sayings.

How not to confuse the words of proverbs and sayings?

To remember not to confuse these concepts with each other, use the following tips:

1. There is a phrase “Proverbs and sayings”.
Word " proverbs" always comes first, since a proverb is whole complete sentence, with morals and deep meaning.
And the word " sayings always in second place because it just beautiful and symbolic phrase , unable to act as an independent proposal.

2. Read individual articles about and sayings on this site. Feel the difference between them.

3. You can always go to this page to once again remember the differences between proverbs and sayings.

Proverb - complete sentence

A proverb is a short sentence containing folk wisdom. Spelled simple vernacular, often has rhyme and rhythm.

Examples

You can’t even catch a fish from a pond without difficulty.

Empty barrel It thunders louder.

If you don't know the ford, don't go into the water.

If you chase two hares, you won’t catch either.

Brevity is the sister of talent.

The spool is small, but expensive.

A saying is a symbolic phrase or phrase

A proverb is an established phrase or phrase, figurative expression, metaphor. Not used on its own.
Proverbs are used in sentences to give a bright artistic color to facts, things and situations.

Examples of sayings

“to put a pig” (to play a dirty trick)

“disservice” (help that turns into harm)

“to be left with the nose” (to be deceived)

"stay at a broken trough"(to lose something due to stupid behavior)

“when the cancer whistles on the mountain” (never)

"wedding general" ( important person, from which there is no actual sense)

Examples of using sayings in sentences

I'll give you this car when the cancer on the mountain whistles.

Illegally dismissed employee screwed us over.

Basilio the cat and Alice the fox left Pinocchio with a nose.

Our new director walks around looking important, is interested in every nonsense, pretends that he understands something, and at the same time asks the most stupid questions, in short - another wedding general.

To obtain more complete knowledge about proverbs and sayings, the following articles on our website are recommended.

The saying is small folklore genre, akin to a proverb (together they make up a proverb); a short stable folk saying that expressively characterizes life phenomenon V figurative form, applied to many similar cases.

Origin of the saying

Sayings, along with proverbs, developed and existed in oral folk art as a reflection of people's life experiences and observations. These apt sayings are passed down from century to century, thereby accompanying the people throughout history.

In fiction, a proverb is an allegory, a historically established phrase that defines a life phenomenon and gives it an expressive assessment, often in a humorous form.

In some national (German, English, Polish, Czech, Slovak) folklore traditions, the genres of proverbs and sayings are not distinguished, which is due to the lack of a generally accepted view in linguistics. Despite the close connection between the genres, most modern researchers isolate sayings from proverbs and establish conditional genre and stylistic differences between them.

The difference between a saying and a proverb

Unlike a proverb, a saying does not express a complete judgment, does not contain a general edifying meaning, but conveys a judgment of a private nature and acquires meaning only in a speech context. In V. I. Dahl’s “Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language” there is a proverb - “a coherent short speech that is current among the people, but does not constitute complete proverb».

Syntactic construction

In contrast to the semantic and syntactic completeness of a proverb, which grammatically constitutes the form of a complete sentence, a proverb is predominantly an incomplete sentence or a fragment of it.

Sayings can be expressed in comparative terms: appeared (fell out of the blue); verb form with it. noun: equated a pig to a horse; affirmative impersonal sentences with the word “no” in the form of a predicate: every cloud has a silver lining, there is no smoke without fire; generalized and personal sentences: you can’t escape fate, we’ll wait and see, etc.

Variation of sayings

The lexical and grammatical restructuring of the saying, in particular the replacement of words with similar meanings, leads to the formation of new variants of expression. For example: the original form is to see a bird by its flight, the derivative version is to know an owl by its flight; light (the world) is not without good people.

Proverb - abbreviated proverb

Abbreviated proverbs can be transformed into sayings: the proverb “you are chasing two hares” is part of the proverb “if you chase two hares, you will not catch either”; “an attempt is not torture, (and demand is not a problem)”; or, on the contrary, some sayings are supplemented with words and form proverbs: the proverb “raking in heat with someone else’s hands” is included in the proverb “It’s easy to rake in heat with someone else’s hands.”

Stylistic devices in sayings

Examples of the proverb genre are often built on hyperbole: lost in three pines; how many years, how many winters; the drunken sea is knee-deep. Metaphors were also widely used: seven Fridays in a week; stay with nothing; tongue without bones; dog in the manger; walls have ears; and reception figurative comparison- they tore me off like a stick. In addition, in sayings there is a tautology characteristic of oral folk speech: they knock out a wedge with a wedge, don’t teach a scientist.

The meaning of the saying

The saying still is in an efficient way precise and concise expression of thoughts as in artistic speech, and in conversation.

Examples of sayings:

Output to clean water; twice two is four; keep your mouth shut; small but daring; my hut is on the edge; learn from mistakes; master or disappeared; steam does not ache the bones; the truth stings the eyes; the first pancake is lumpy; it doesn’t happen once in a while; You can see better from the mountain; you can’t order your heart; Good riddance; laughter and sin; morning is wiser than evening; a little bit of good stuff, etc.

Without exaggeration, proverbs can be called the treasury of any nation. They develop historically, generalize everyday experience and folk wisdom. Regardless of the level of education and place of residence, every person regularly uses colloquial speech about 200-300 different jokes and catchphrases. proverb?" is interpreted in different ways, and many philologists and historians are trying to find the correct answer. These apt sayings, which have an intelligible content, often consist of two rhyming parts. Sometimes we don’t even notice how often we use various proverbs in ordinary life. After all, they are able to enliven dry speech, add national flavor to it and succinctly characterize a particular situation.

As a rule, good proverbs have two meanings: literal and figurative. With their help, any thought or life observation is conveyed in a metaphorical form. These short sayings are a real national treasure and have not lost their relevance to this day.

How to define

In order to understand where the success of this morphological design lies, you need to know what it is. Definition of "what is a proverb?" you can give this. This is a certain genre of folklore, a logically complete, figurative and capacious saying in a rhythmic form, which has a great semantic load. This term has Russian origin and implies that the proverb is used in real life. It most clearly manifests following signs folk sayings:

1. Collectiveness of creativity (as a rule, proverbs do not have an author; they were created over a certain period of time and supplemented by different people).

2. Traditionality, that is, sustainability. As a rule, the text of the proverb remains practically unchanged.

3. Orality. These sayings are much more connected with direct and immediate speech than others.

In order to explain a proverb, you need to know the language in which it is pronounced well in order to grasp figurative meaning. Such sayings necessarily carry some conclusions about what is good and what is bad, how to act correctly and how not to act.

Proverbs in other countries

Of course, this arose and developed not only in Rus'. Such catchphrases exist in almost every country, because they are an indispensable companion to the historical progress of mankind. What is noteworthy is that almost every proverb has its analogues among other nations. Of course, it is adapted to the living conditions and level of civilization of each ethnic group, but the very fact of such a common idea makes scientists puzzle over it. Most likely, this can be explained by the fact that the main and ideas public life are the same in all countries. This is a kind of set of rules, historical heritage and philosophical memory.

The most common themes of proverbs

If we look at this folklore genre in more detail, we will notice that there are areas of life about which there are a lot of statements and sayings. Most often they talk about the need to work to ensure decent life, about how negative laziness and lack of goals are in a person. They all aim to motivate people to lead a useful and functional lifestyle. For example, how to understand the proverb:

"Lazy hands are not relatives smart head" or "Work feeds a person, but laziness spoils him"? The answer is obvious: people who do not want to do anything are doomed to a boring and useless life. Work, on the contrary, gives people joy and an understanding of their own need for society and loved ones.

The wolf is a popular image for proverbs

American philologists conducted interesting research and found out that images of animals are very often used in Russian sayings. One of them, undoubtedly, is the wolf. In order to reveal the nature of this feature, we must remember that Russian people have been inextricably linked for centuries with environment. They knew firsthand about wolves and thoroughly studied their habits and way of life.

It is not surprising that there are so many fairy tales, riddles and proverbs associated with this beast. He has no compassion, trusts no one and has no friends. It was these qualities that served as the impetus for playing up the image of the wolf in Russian folklore.

When the USSR arose, the government had to create an absolutely new ideology. This is how sayings arose such as " Soviet people harder than rocks." They carried a motivating meaning. These short and succinct sayings were supposed to make it clear to the citizens of the USSR and the whole world how correct the path of socialism chosen by this country was.

But folklore cannot be subordinated to political goals. Proverbs that were created professional writers and poets, never took root in everyday life and remained to sound like slogans printed in newspapers and on banners. With the collapse Soviet Union they instantly lost their significance and are of interest only to historians and philologists.

How to correctly use sayings in everyday speech?

Like any phraseological units, proverbs need to be able to be added to the lexicon in a timely and appropriate manner. If the speech is oversaturated with them, then the interlocutor will get the impression that the person does not have his own ideas and is able to think only in clichés. Everything should be in moderation.

Thus, having studied the features of this genre, we can define “what a proverb is” and understand its historical essence.

Proverbs and sayings are actively involved in people's daily communication. Very often, out of ignorance, these different terms are combined into one whole, calling a saying a proverb, and vice versa. Very few people know the difference between a proverb and a saying.

Where did proverbs and sayings come from?

The time when the first proverbs and sayings appeared remains a secret. We can only say that it was a very long time ago, about ten centuries ago. The author of these sayings was not a specific person, but the Russian people. In this way people described natural situations and events happening in the life of society:

1. Your customs and traditions.
2. They made fun of their enemies.
3. They shamed society for its vices: anger, rudeness, laziness, envy, pride.

Several early proverbs were mentioned in chronicles and ancient written works, for example, in The Tale of Igor's Campaign. Since those times, the first handwritten collections of stable folk expressions have been preserved.

The source of more later proverbs and sayings are literary works different authors. As an example, we can cite “Woe from Wit” by Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov. Dozens of phrases from this comedy fell in love with the people and turned into catchphrases.

A greater variety of semantic phrases came from Russian folk tales, fable. The well-known fables of Ivan Andreevich Krylov became a real casket. Most famous sayings everyone knows about them. " It's your fault that I want to eat" or " The powerful are always to blame for the powerless“- both an adult and a child know.

What is a proverb?

A saying invented by the people in order to convey to a person some kind of worldly wisdom , help implement right choice, called proverb . Usually it contains two parts. The second part, in most cases, is designed to rhyme with the first part. Having morality - prerequisite to consider the expression a proverb.

Morality- a moral teaching with meaning that needs to be conveyed to the consciousness of listeners.

As a rule, proverbs describe the following pressing topics:

• Work.
• Job.
• Family
• Friendship.
• Health.

There is no doubt about the veracity of proverbs, because for many centuries they have stood the test of time. People have been convinced more than once of the authenticity of their motives.

The most accurate definition of what a proverb is can be told by our grandparents. In their times, the folklore genre was more popular than in modern days.

What is a saying?

A proverb is a set of words that briefly describe certain life moments in a vivid figurative form.. This is a short phrase that gives an emotional overtone to the conversation. Most often it is part of the proposal. It is not her task to teach the listener anything. Main goal sayings - add bright colors to your speech.

Every person encounters sayings every day. Perhaps many people do not notice how they themselves use such statements in their everyday vocabulary. Examples of sayings:

• "Knock it off."
• "The cat cried."
• "Wasting money."
• "Pracking your brains."
• "Seven spans on the forehead."

What are the differences between sayings and proverbs?

It’s a common situation when articles are found on the Internet or in other collections of information where proverbs and sayings are generalized into a single concept. In fact, this is wrong. Perhaps people have had this misconception since their school days. Or the confusion occurs due to the similar sound of these two terms. In any case, you should know that these words have different meanings. Accordingly, they cannot be used as substitutes for each other.

What is the difference between a saying and proverbs? Let's find out the main subtleties.

The proverb confirms the wisdom, knowledge and experience of the people. The main idea of ​​the saying is to express the character, emotions, and feelings of people.

If you carry out comparative analysis proverbs with a saying can be found following discrepancies:

How to distinguish a proverb from a saying?

Both proverbs and sayings were invented by people and for people. Both are written in easy-to-understand language. Many people cannot recognize which genre an expression belongs to. In principle, you don’t have to think about this issue and move on with your life in peace. But, for general development, such information will not be superfluous. Moreover, knowing some secrets, you can learn without special labor, distinguish between proverbs and sayings. Let's look at them.

So, we're talking about about the proverb, If:

1. A phrase is a complete sentence.
2. Has an instructive message.
3. The second part of the statement rhymes with the first.

Proverb recognized by the following characteristics:

1. A short phrase of two to four words.
2. Has no morals.
3. Included in the offer.
4. Used to create a strong image in a sentence.

These are the main points of difference between a proverb and a saying. If desired, you can easily remember them and surprise the people around you with your knowledge.

Video on the topic

Elements in which the content of the original text is condensed can stand out and independently transform into living speech; this is not an abstract formula of the idea of ​​the work, but a figurative hint of it, taken from the work itself and serving as its substitute (for example, “a pig under an oak tree”, or “a dog in the manger”, or “he washes dirty linen in public”).

Dahl’s definition of “a coherent short speech, current among the people, but not constituting a complete proverb” is quite suitable for the proverb, noting at the same time a special and very common type of saying - a current expression that has not developed into a full proverb, new image, replacing an ordinary word (for example, “doesn’t knit” instead of “drunk”, “didn’t invent gunpowder” instead of “fool”, “pulling the strap”, “all my clothes are two mats, but a festive sack”). There is no proverb here, just as there is no work of art in an emblem that has only a once-for-all meaning.

A saying, unlike a proverb, does not contain a general instructive meaning.

• “Hunger is not an aunt, it won’t feed you with pie”
• "The word is not a sparrow"
• "Teach your grandmother to suck eggs"
• “He called himself a milkweed - get into the box”
• "A fly in the ointment"
• “Whatever you call the boat, that’s how it will float”
• “Dear spoon for dinner”
• “Yes, curls cannot replace convolutions!”
• "A friend in need is a friend indeed"
• “Don’t renounce money or prison”
• “I found a scythe on a stone”
• “Without God you can’t reach the threshold”
• “Kisses means he loves”
• “Hitting means loving”

Some sayings may sound similar, but different meaning. So, for example, along with the well-known proverb “He hits, it means he loves,” there is also a proverb that reflects the folk wisdom, “Strokes, it means he loves.”

Types of sayings

There are several types of sayings and are divided into:

1. Sayings by regions of the world.
2. Sayings of the peoples of the world.
3. Thematic sayings.

See also

Links

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

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See what a “Proverb” is in other dictionaries:

Proverb, fable, joke, saying, saying, saying. This is a saying; wait, a fairy tale will come. Ershov. .. Cm … Dictionary of synonyms

See Proverb. Literary encyclopedia. At 11 vol.; M.: Publishing House of the Communist Academy, Soviet encyclopedia, Fiction. Edited by V. M. Fritsche, A. V. Lunacharsky. 1929 1939 … Literary encyclopedia

PROVERB, figurative expression, figure of speech, aptly defining, reflecting any phenomenon of life. Unlike the proverb, it is devoid of a general instructive meaning (Seven Fridays in a week, Put your teeth on the shelf) ... Modern encyclopedia

A figurative expression, a figure of speech that aptly defines any phenomenon of life; unlike the proverb, it is devoid of a general instructive meaning (Seven Fridays in a week, Put your teeth on the shelf) ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

PROVERB, sayings, women. 1. An accepted, current expression, usually figurative, allegorical, which is not a complete phrase or sentence (how it differs from a proverb, for example, neither a peahen nor a crow). 2. Same as proverb (inaccurate). 3. only units... ... Dictionary Ushakova

PROVERB, and, wives. Short stable expression, preferably figurative, not constituting, unlike a proverb, a complete statement. Folk sayings. | adj. proverbial, oh, oh. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949… … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Saying. of the simplest poetic works, such as a fable or a proverb, the elements in which, so to speak, their content is condensed, can stand out and independently pass into living speech; this is an unabstract formula of the idea of ​​the work, but... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

saying- PROVERB1, joke, saying, colloquial. sentence, colloquial sentence, colloquial proverb, colloquial proverb DETAIL, detail, thoroughness, thoroughness, spaciousness DETAIL, detail, subtlety, particular DETAILED, ... ... Dictionary-thesaurus of synonyms of Russian speech

Saying- A PROVERB, a figurative expression, a figure of speech that aptly defines and reflects any phenomenon of life. In contrast to the proverb, it is devoid of a general instructive meaning (“Seven Fridays in a week”, “Put your teeth on the shelf”). ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Saying- a short, stable saying in everyday life, often of an edifying nature, figuratively defining any life phenomenon, primarily from the point of view of its emotionally expressive assessment. Most researchers see the difference between... Pedagogical speech science

Books

• From lectures on the theory of literature. Fable. Proverb. Saying. , Potebnya A.A.. This book will be produced in accordance with your order using Print-on-Demand technology. The book is a reprint of 1894. Despite the fact that a serious…
• From lectures on the theory of literature. Fable. Proverb. Saying. 1894. 2. Etymological and other notes. , Potebnya A.A.. This book will be produced in accordance with your order using Print-on-Demand technology. The book is a reprint of 1880. Despite the fact that a serious…