Introduction:
The enigmatic cloak of the night has long captured the imagination of cultures worldwide, offering a canvas for contemplation, insight, and reflection. These proverbs, collected from diverse corners of the globe, shed light on the unique and often contradictory aspects of nighttime. From the wisdom of Chinese proverbs warning of aging and darkness to the resilience found in African proverbs, there’s a wealth of knowledge that transcends time and place. As we delve into this collection, we’ll explore the dualities of the night, where it serves as both a canvas for dreams and a realm of caution, a time for introspection and celebration. In each saying, we find the human experience illuminated under the cover of night.
Proverbs:
- A decision made at night may be changed in the morning. ~ Samoan Proverb
- A man is old when he takes the whole night to do what he used to do all night long. ~ Chinese Proverb
- Better a night full of anger than a night full of repentance. ~ Hebrew Proverb
- Better to sit all night than to go to bed with a dragon. ~ Traditional Proverb
- Boast during the day; be humble at night. ~ New Zealander Proverbs
- Clear conscience never fears midnight knocking. ~ Chinese Proverb
- Curse your wife at evening, sleep alone at night. ~ Chinese Proverb
- Darkness and night are mothers of thought. ~ Dutch Proverbs
- Do not blame the sun for the darkness of the night. ~ Georgian Proverb
- Even the night has ears. ~ Tanzanian Proverb
- For a bad night, a mattress of wine. ~ Spanish Proverbs
- He who does not lose his way by night will not lose his way by day. ~ Nigerian Proverb
- He who led me in the night, will be thanked by me at daybreak. ~ Mozambican Proverb
- If the king says that it is night in the middle of the day, look up at the stars. ~ Arabian Proverb
- If there are no nightingales one must settle for owls. ~ Danish Proverbs
- If you carry treasure, don’t travel at night. ~ Japanese Proverbs
- If you go out a lot at night, you will probably meet ghosts. ~ Vietnamese Proverb
- It is never later than midnight. ~ Myanmar Proverb
- Last night I made a thousand plans, but this morning I went my old way. ~ Chinese Proverb
- Many seek good nights and waste good days. ~ Dutch Proverb
- Midsummer night is not long but it sets many cradles rocking. ~ Swedish Proverb
- Never praise life in front of death, nor the beautiful day in front of night. ~ Spanish Proverb
- Night is the mother of advice. ~ Corsican Proverb
- Nights of pleasure are short. ~ Lebanese Proverb
- No matter how long the night, the day is sure to come. ~ Congolese Proverb
- One night with an ugly woman and one day in the mountains both are like an eternity. ~ Turkish Proverbs
- Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. ~ Traditional Proverb
- The darkness of night cannot stop the light of morning. ~ Cameroonian Proverb
- The day did not know that night had fallen. ~ Cameroonian Proverb
- The day will wipe out all the promises of the night. ~ Iraqi Proverb
- The gates of hell are always open, even at midnight. ~ Slovak Proverb
- The loss of one night’s sleep is followed by ten days of inconvenience. ~ Chinese Proverb
- The night is the king of the shadows. ~ Senegalese Proverb
- The night rinses what the day has soaped. ~ Swiss Proverb
- The night walks the same road as the dream. ~ Russian Proverb
- The nights are short for him who married late in life. ~ Russian Proverb
- To spend the night in anger is better than to spend it repenting. ~ Senegalese Proverb
- Wait until it is night before saying it has been a fine day. ~ French Proverb
- When night falls the face of the wolf lights up. ~ Russian Proverbs
- Who arrives in the darkness departs as night falls. ~ Chinese Proverb
- You can make the dream bigger than the night. ~ Yiddish Proverb
