Proverbs and Sayings

To make a donkey out of a mosquito. — One of the meanings of this proverb could be… To exaggerate. (This is translated from a Bosian proverb)

Spilt water will not return to the tray. — One of the meanings of this proverb could be… It’s no use crying over spilt milk. / A separated couple can never go back to as it was. Original meaning comes from an old Chinese story of a couple, but the proverb is often used in a more general sense today. (This is a Japanese proverb, saying, or idiom)

If you plant, you harvest. — This is translated from a Filipino proverb

Massive amounts of water flooded the dragon-king temple.  — The moral of this proverb, or a meaning could be even those who work to prevent something (bad) can be hurt or damaged by it. Explanation: the dragon-king is a mystical creature that lives underwater and controls the natural bodies of water. People visit the dragon-king temple to placate him and prevent floods, thus this proverb is ironic situationally (Sometimes this proverb is used as ‘???????,????????’ (…yi1 jia1 ren2 bu4 ren4 yi1 jia1 ren2 …one+home+person+not+know+one+home+person), or, One family member doesn’t recognize another family member. The idiom might be used to resolve an embarrassing situation; Someone has a conflict with a stranger, only to find the stranger was a neighbor, or a sister’s boyfriend, or any other person with some relation. The two might use this idiom to save face and make peace with each other, comparing the conflict to that of the flooded dragon-king’s temple (dragon-king: rain god in some sense). (This is a rough translation from a Chinese proverb)

An apprentice near a temple will recite the scriptures untaught. — One of the meanings of this proverb could be… The environment makes our characters. (This is a Japanese proverb, saying, or idiom)