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It is not that you can write a book about proverbs in Spanish, it is that the Spanish collection of proverbs (“el refranero Español“) is enough to write a full encyclopedia.

Word of mouth transmitted the wisdom of Spanish sayings and proverbs from generation to generation, so you will hear some of them from time to time, but they are not used a lot in writing.

Here I will write Spanish Sayings, I will try to translate them if possible and I will also explain what they mean. But since proverbs in Spanish talk about such diverse topics, I will tray to separate them by subjects:

Spanish sayings about Weather

Something interesting and nice about this Spanish sayings is that they can not only be used for weather and for agriculture works, sometimes they can also be applied as is for any other job or other aspects of life. But you will need a great proficiency of spoken Spanish.

“Agua de por Mayo, pan para todo el año“: Water for May, bread for the whole year.
We have already discovered this saying in the article about months of the year in Spanish. So, let’s see it again: This sayings refers to the fact that the crops that are seed in winter and early spring, mainly cereals, need May rains to develop fully and give the best production.

↪ There is a Spanish expression that used to be quite common in Spain that says “como agua de mayo“. We say it when a little unexpectedly we get something that will help us a lot. For example, imagine that your parents give you some money for your birthday, and you needed that money for something. Then you can say “este dinero extra me viene como agua de mayo” (this extra money comes to me like rain in May) meaning that you needed it and it’s great to have it.

“Agua de por San Juan, quita vino y no da pan“: Rain water from San Juan, removes wine and does not give bread.
San Juan is on July the 24th. On that date, excessive rain can spoil the flowering of the vines and their pollination. In addition, this water no longer helps the cereal plantations, so it is not used to improve the production of cereals. We can also say this saying when something happens at the wrong moment.

“Año de nieves, año de bienes“: A year of snow, a year of plenty. Actually bienes means goods.
This means that if it snows there will be good harvests. Snow is not only good for aquifers, but interestingly, it insulates the soil and protects the roots of winter crops, such as wheat and barley, from frost.

“Hasta el cuarenta de mayo no te quites el sayo“: Until May 40, don’t take off your tunic.
Yes, May has 31 days, but because 40 (“cuarenta”) in Spanish rhymes with “mayo” we take the opportunity to say this saying that warns us that cold days can still come until well into June.

“En abril aguas mil“: In April a thousand of rain water. We like to say that in Spain when in April rains a lot.

“Hacer de la capa un sayo“: Make the cape a tunic. It is similar to do as you please.
Actually we say that about someone who acting at his own will did something a bit unexpected with something, even improving it.

Cuando Marzo mayea, Mayo marcea

Dijo Mayo a Abril, aunque te pese me he de reír

Febrero, vaya un mes repuñetero

Hasta el cuarenta de Mayo no te quites el sayo

Marzo ventoso y Abril lluvioso, Mayo florido y hermoso

Sol que mucho madruga poco dura

Cuando el grajo vuela bajo hace un frío del carajo

Delfines jugando, mal tiempo barruntando

Spanish sayings about Money

“Agosto y septiembre no duran siempre“: August and September don’t last forever.
These are months of harvest and therefore abundance, but we must be cautious and save as we may not have benefits until the following season.

“Ni tu pan en tortas ni tu vino en botas“: Neither your bread in cakes nor your wine in boots.
This Spanish proverb warns that we should not spend our money on things that we are going to consume blithely, because we will end up consuming a lot of that and spending too much money.

“Un grano no hace granero, pero ayuda a su compañero“: A grain does not make a barn, but it helps its partner.
Many times you earn more by earning a little many times than by making more money very once in a while. Do not despise small profits, especially if they can be given continuously.

“Quien no hereda no medra“: Who does not inherit does not thrive.
It refers to how difficult it is for too many people to get on in life despite putting in a lot of effort and doing things well.

“A buen pagador no le duelen prendas“: Forfeits don’t hurt a good payer.
When a person never puts any problem to pay any debt we say in Spanish that that person is “buen pagador”. Because that person doesn’t hurt to part with money or something offered as a payment that hence is no longer yours.

To be continued … 😀