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Some Brazilian proverbs, that I don't know if are exclusively Brazilian or not:
In Portuguese: "Água mole em pedra dura, tanto bate até que fura" Translation: "Soft water in a hard rock, beats until it pierces"
(Meaning: The power of persistence. The water beats the solid rock persistently, and eventually, the rock is pierced, no matter how many time it takes.)
In Portuguese: "Da vida nada se leva." Translation: "From life, one can't carry anything."
(Meaning: when you die, you can't carry your wealth and material stuff with you)
In Portuguese: "Alegria de pobre dura pouco." Translation: "The joy of the poor man is short-lived."
(Meaning: we say that when we receive good news, and shortly thereafter the good news aren't confirmed, or are canceled)
In Portuguese: "Casa de ferreiro, espeto de pau" Translation: "In a blacksmith's house the skewer is made of wood"
(Meaning: We say this to point out a contradiction between someone's occupation and some of his attitudes. For example, a doctor who tells everybody else to have a healthy diet, but he is always eating greasy burgers, or an economist who doesn't care to efficiently manage his household bills)
Is uaine iad na cnoic i bhfad uainne./ Faraway hills are green.
Is goirt iad na deora, na deora a siltear, ach is goirte go mór na deora nach siltear./Bitter are the tears that are shed, but more bitter are the ones not shed.
An rud nach bhfuil is nach mbeidh, nead ag an luch i bhféasóg an chait. / A thing that will never be, a mouse's nest in the whiskers of a cat.
Tabhair do phóg do chois an ghiorria./ Give a kiss to the rabbit's leg. (Forget it, its gone for good.)
Ag cuimilt saille de thóin na muice méithe./Greasing the arse of a fat pig. (A more earthy version about the pointlessnes of gilding the lily.)
Bod seanduine nó cíoch seanmhná./ An old man's penis, an old woman's breast (drooping and useless, said of something no longer useful.
and one for which I don't have any Irish version....Put your shoulder to the wheel, tighten your belt and don't let the neighbors know.
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