దొంగకి అందరి మీద అనుమానమే

dongaki andari mida anumaname

Translation

A thief suspects everyone.

Meaning

This expression means that a guilty person or someone who has committed a wrong is always paranoid and suspicious that others around them are judging them or are aware of their secret. It is used to describe how a person's own conscience makes them feel insecure and distrustful of others.

Related Phrases

Doubt is a giant ghost

This proverb highlights how suspicion or doubt can grow uncontrollably and haunt a person like a massive demon. It is used to suggest that baseless suspicion can destroy relationships, peace of mind, and lead to irrational fears if left unchecked.

One must bite/eat black gram on Kanuma day

This is a traditional saying related to the Sankranti festival. Kanuma is the third day of the harvest festival, dedicated to cattle. It is a cultural custom to consume black gram (minumulu) in some form—usually as Vada or Garelu—on this day to ensure health and strength for the coming year.

The thief suspects every one. A thief thinks every man steals. (Deutch.)

This proverb describes a guilty conscience. Just as a thief fears that everyone around him is a policeman or knows his secret, a person who has done something wrong remains perpetually suspicious of others' intentions and actions, thinking they are out to catch or expose him.

A thief is a companion to another thief

This expression is used to describe how people with similar bad habits, questionable characters, or dishonest intentions tend to support and protect each other. It is equivalent to the English proverb 'Birds of a feather flock together' or 'Honor among thieves', often used in a negative context to highlight collusion between wrongdoers.

The scrupulosity of a Śaiva priest. The Tambaḷas are a class of Śûdra priests who wear the sacred thread, and endeavour to observe Brahminical customs. Applied to foolish scruples.

This expression refers to excessive or unnecessary suspicion. It originates from a folklore where a priest (Tambala) remains suspicious of others' intentions even when things are straightforward, leading to self-created anxiety or complications. It is used to describe a person who doubts everything despite having no valid reason.

Doubt is a life-threatening crisis.

This proverb highlights that suspicion or doubt can be as agonizing and dangerous as a fatal illness. It is used to describe situations where a person's constant distrust or lack of faith in someone or something leads to extreme mental agony, ruins relationships, or creates unnecessary complications that feel like a matter of life and death.

Only a thief knows the secrets of another thief

This proverb implies that people of the same kind, especially those involved in deceptive or specific activities, understand each other's tactics and mindsets better than outsiders. It is used to suggest that it takes one to know one.

Like a thief himself doubting the whole house.

This proverb describes a situation where a guilty person suspects others of the very same misdeeds they are committing. It is used when someone's own dishonesty or flaws lead them to distrust everyone else around them, often as a psychological projection.

Even if a village falls upon another village, not a penny will fall on the Karanam.

This proverb highlights the extreme selfishness or stinginess of a person in power. A 'Karanam' was a village accountant/official; the saying implies that no matter how much disaster or collective burden falls upon society, certain greedy or clever individuals will ensure they don't lose a single cent of their own wealth or take any responsibility.

Food on the high-slung basket, sleep on the village.

This expression describes a person who lives a carefree, irresponsible, or nomadic lifestyle without any domestic stability or worries. It refers to someone who eats whenever they find food (stored in an 'Utti' or rope-net basket) and sleeps wherever they happen to be in the village, essentially living without any definite home or plan.