Read our selection of the best known and inspiring proverbs about women from around the world.
What’s a proverb?
A proverb is a brief, simple, traditional saying that gives advice based on practical experience, often in the form of a metaphor or allegory Proverbs are popular in spoken language, and form part of the folklore of a culture, passing down the generations.
Whilst views on women in many cultures are thankfully increasingly enlightened, there are a number of current and historical proverbs that talk about women in a negative or misogynistic way. We’ve left these proverbs out of the below list, and have tried to balance the collection of proverbs about women to capture timeless truths about the fairer sex. Read on below for 50 of the most inspiring and thought-provoking proverbs about women.
“A home without a woman is like a barn without cattle.”
Ethiopian proverb
“A house well-furnished makes a woman wise.”
English proverb
“A man is as old as he feels, a woman as old as she looks.”
English proverb
“A silent woman is a gift from God”
French proverb
“A woman and a melon are hard to choose.”
French proverb
“A woman is like the moon – some nights it is silver others gold.”
Armenian proverb
“A woman is never old when it comes to the dance she knows. “
African proverb
“A woman’s belly is a garden with many kinds of fruit.”
Arab proverb
“As changeable is the moon so is the opinion of the woman.”
French proverb
“Beauty is the wisdom of women. Wisdom is the beauty of men.”
Chinese proverb
“Cats, flies and women are ever at their toilets.”
French proverb
“Flip the jar on its mouth, and the daughter comes out like her mother.”
Arab proverb
“Hell has no fury like a woman scorned.”
English proverb
“If you educate a man you educate one individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family. “
Ghanaian proverb
“It is easier to guard a bushel of fleas than a woman.”
German proverb
“Man, woman, and devil, are the three degrees of comparison.”
English proverb
“Men and women sleep on the same pillow, but they have different dreams.”
Mongolian proverb
“Men make houses, women make homes.”
English proverb
“Never marry a woman who has bigger feet than you. “
Mozambican proverb
“No matter how big a child is, he cannot deny that he was once carried on the back of a woman. “
African proverb
“One who plants grapes by the road side, and one who marries a pretty woman, share the same problem.”
Ethiopian proverb
“So many little things makes a man love a woman in a big way. “
Ghanaian proverb
“There was never a conflict without a woman.”
English proverb
“Where a woman rules, stream run uphill. “
Ethiopian proverb
“Who has a woman has an eel by the tail.”
English proverb
“Women in mischief are wiser than men.”
English proverb
“Women’s counsel is cold.”
English proverb
That’s your lot for proverbs about women. What do you think – any great ones that we’re missing? Drop us a line in the comments section below.
Women and trouble are close relatives
The tongue of woman is her sword, which never rusts. – Japanes Proverb
The collection you have selected is insanely sexist and clearly coined by old world men who saw their women as property or cattle. Women did not have as much agency to coin proverbs then, or you surely would have read some like ‘ Only she who tames a Snake would know how to keep her man faithful’ You could surely use a collection of better proverbs that show women in a better light!
What a dull bundle of twigs you’ve scraped together here. The title of this list needs reworking… something like: ‘sexist twaddle insecure types from around the world have muttered under their breath at some point’ ought to just about cover it. Your choice of the word ‘inspiring’ is perplexing…
Never trust a woman’s dream = A woman’s dream is always wrong. (Iran)
More provebs
this is a great list, thank you for posting it. some of these replies are disappointing, the old thinking is traditional, i appreciate finding this