ఆలు ఒల్లక అరవై ఏళ్ళు, మొగుడు ఒల్లక ముప్పై ఏళ్ళు, బాలప్రాయం పదేళ్ళు.
alu ollaka aravai ellu, mogudu ollaka muppai ellu, balaprayam padellu.
Sixty years passed as the wife was unwilling, thirty years passed as the husband was unwilling, and ten years passed as childhood.
This proverb describes a wasted life or a failed relationship where time is squandered on mutual dislikes, disagreements, and hesitation. It is used to mock people who spend their entire lives complaining or avoiding responsibilities until it is too late.
Related Phrases
ఆలి అలుక అరవై ఏళ్లు, మగని అలుక ముప్పయి ఏళ్లు, బాలప్రాయం పదేళ్లు.
ali aluka aravai ellu, magani aluka muppayi ellu, balaprayam padellu.
A wife's sulking lasts sixty years, a husband's sulking lasts thirty years, and childhood lasts ten years.
This proverb humorously highlights the typical durations of different life stages and domestic behaviors. It suggests that a wife's resentment or anger can be long-lasting (metaphorically sixty years), a husband's is relatively shorter (thirty years), and childhood is fleeting (only ten years). It is often used to comment on the enduring nature of domestic friction versus the shortness of youth.
మొగుడొల్లక ముప్పై ఏండ్లు, ఆలొల్లక అరవై ఏండ్లు, బాలప్రాయం పదేండ్లు
mogudollaka muppai endlu, alollaka aravai endlu, balaprayam padendlu
Thirty years without a husband, sixty years without a wife, and ten years of childhood.
This proverb is used to comment on how time is wasted in life due to indecisiveness, avoidance of responsibilities, or unfavorable circumstances. It highlights a life spent in loneliness or procrastination, where the prime years pass away without fulfillment or purpose.
ఎద్దయినా ఏడాదికి నేర్చును, మొద్దు ముప్పై ఏళ్లయినా నేర్వడు.
eddayina edadiki nerchunu, moddu muppai ellayina nervadu.
An ox can learn within a year, but a blockhead (dullard) won't learn even in thirty years.
This proverb is used to comment on a person's intelligence or stubbornness. It implies that even a beast of burden like an ox can be trained and disciplined within a year, but a person who lacks the will or the mental capacity to learn will remain ignorant regardless of how much time passes.
ఆశ అరవైనాళ్ళు, మోహం ముప్పైనాళ్ళు
asha aravainallu, moham muppainallu
Desire lasts sixty days, infatuation lasts thirty days.
This expression is used to describe the temporary nature of excitement or obsession with new things or relationships. It suggests that the initial craze (infatuation) fades quickly, while even deeper desires have a limited shelf life before they lose their intensity.
అరవై ఏళ్ళు వచ్చిన తరువాత అన్నంభట్లు అటక ఎక్కాడట
aravai ellu vachchina taruvata annambhatlu ataka ekkadata
They say Annambhatlu climbed onto the loft after turning sixty years old.
This proverb is used to describe someone who attempts to start a new venture, learn a new skill, or take up a major responsibility at a very late stage in life when they are no longer physically or mentally fit for it. It highlights the irony of delayed action or performing a task when its relevance or the person's capability has passed.
కూడు ఒల్లనమ్మను కటికవేమి చేస్తుంది?
kudu ollanammanu katikavemi chestundi?
What can a famine do to a woman who refuses food?
This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone who is already indifferent or has renounced something cannot be threatened by the loss of it. If a person is unwilling to eat, the threat of starvation or a lack of food has no impact on them. It highlights that you cannot punish or coerce someone who doesn't value what you are trying to take away.
ఆలు వల్లక అరవై యేండ్లు, మొగుడు వల్లక ముప్ఫయి యేండ్లు, బాలప్రాయము పది యేండ్లు.
alu vallaka aravai yendlu, mogudu vallaka mupphayi yendlu, balaprayamu padi yendlu.
For ten years they were children, for thirty years the husband disliked the wife, and for sixty years the wife disliked the husband. Applied to an unprofitable and unhappy life.
This proverb is used to describe a wasted life or a long period of time spent in procrastination and excuses. It humorously illustrates how an entire century (100 years) can pass by blaming others or circumstances—60 years blaming the wife, 30 years blaming the husband, and 10 years in childhood—without ever achieving anything meaningful.
అరటిపండు వలవడానికి ఇనుప గోళ్ళు కావాలా?
aratipandu valavadaniki inupa gollu kavala?
Do you need iron fingernails to peel a banana?
This proverb is used to point out that one does not need extraordinary efforts, complex tools, or great strength to perform a very simple task. It is a rhetorical question used when someone overcomplicates an easy job or makes a mountain out of a molehill.
అయ్య ఊరోళ్ళ పాలు, అమ్మ మాలోళ్ళ పాలు
ayya urolla palu, amma malolla palu
The father belongs to the villagers, and the mother belongs to the farmworkers.
This proverb describes a situation where both parents are constantly busy with outside work or social obligations, leaving no time for their own family or household. It is used to critique parents who neglect their responsibilities at home while being overly active in community affairs.
ఈపా? వైపా?
ipa? vaipa?
This way? Or that way?
This expression is used to ask for a choice between two directions or options. It is also used colloquially to ask someone to make up their mind or to indicate confusion about which path to follow.