“Patience creates roses.”
The equivalent of “All good things come to those who wait”.
“Iron ring made of wood.”
The expression is used for something impossible, something absurd.
“Walk slowly, you’ll get farther.”
Don’t rush things, they will turn out better.
“They grind in two different mills.”
They speak about two different things, which leads to a misunderstanding.
“One is nineteen, the other is one less than twenty.”
They are both equal, referring usually to equally bad.
“The magpie wants a lot, but its tail can’t carry it all.”
When someone is trying to do more than they are capable of or more than possible in a given time, they are given this reminder. Equivalent of “Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”
“As many customs as houses.”
Every family has its own customs.
“He/she can survive on ice.”
Nothing can bring him/her down.
“Raincoat after the rain.”
It is too late to fix something.
“Too much talk is poverty.”
Instead of talking, you should take action.
“As rare as the white raven.”
It is extremely rare.
“The lazy one tires twice.”
If you don’t do something right the first time, you’ll have to do it all over again.
“It has no ears, nor tail.”
It makes no sense.
“Cat in a sack.”
You don’t know what you are getting.
“Even a blind chicken finds one grain.”
Anyone might get a great result once, it doesn’t mean it will always occur.
“You’ll recognize the bird from its feathers, the man from his friends.”
You are who your friends are.
“A lying man is caught faster than a limping dog.”
A liar will be caught very fast. Used when the speaker suspects someone is lying, but can’t prove it.
“No one is forced to attend the dinner party after killing the pig.”
For traditional Hungarians killing a pig is a popular event, attended by the whole village, or neighborhood, and culminates in a great dinner/celebration. The expression is used when someone is offered a great opportunity but is reluctant to accept it.
“The one who gets up early will find gold.”
Early bird gets the worm.
“Stretch only as far as your blanket reaches.”
Only take on as much as you are capable of doing.
“The candle is burning on your nail.”
You put off something until the very last minute.
“We can’t put everything under one hat.”
Everything is variable, we can’t consider everything under the same rule.
“He/she suspects it, like the cat (suspects) the rain.”
It is said of someone who thinks he/she knows something that might happen in the near future but isn’t sure of it.
“It kicked up a lot of dust.”
It refers to people who made a huge deal of something, such as news that got blown out of proportion.
“A big stone fell off his/her heart.”
It is said when something that caused great stress or worry got resolved.
“I believe it if I’m tied off.”
I doubt it.
“It is not worth a wooden coin.”
It is worthless, not worth a penny.
“He/she put bad wood on the fire.”
They did something wrong.
“He/she got his/her ax in a big tree trunk.”
They attempted something very difficult.
“He/she is tying the dog to the pole.”
It is said about someone who won’t let go (of an idea).
“He/she is waiting for the baked bird to fall into his/her mouth.”
It is said about someone too lazy to do anything even for themselves.
“He/she doesn’t want to stand for the rope.”
It is said about a person who won’t be persuaded to do something. 