PORTUGUESE PROVERBS - Simona Raguckaitė

1. Matar dois coelhos de uma cajadada só.

English translation: To kill two birds with one stone.

Meaning: Resolving two difficulties or matters with a single action.

Lithuanian equivalent: Du zuikiai vienu šūviu.

2. Água mole em pedra dura, tanto bate até que fura.

English translation: Soft water on hard rock will work until it makes a hole.

Meaning: Even the most difficult tasks can be accomplished eventually if one has enough perseverance not to give up.

Lithuanian equivalent: Lašas po lašo ir akmenį pratašo.

3. Onde há fumaca há fogo.

English translation: Where there is smoke, there's fire.

Meaning: If it looks like something is wrong, that something is actually probably wrong.

Lithuanian equivalent: Nėra dūmų be ugnies.

I was surprised to discover so many similarities between Lithuanian and Portuguese proverbs. Evidently, despite large cultural differences, people living thousands of kilometers apart still tend to think the same way. It was also interesting to find some proverbs that somehow found their way to both Lithuania and Portugal from other countries, e.g. Os caes ladram mas a caravana passa (Dogs bark, but a caravan keeps on).