Learn English with Proverbs
“The more you know, the more you realise you don’t know”
This is an example of a well-known proverb (that is so true for language learning too, by the way) and in this episode, we’ll be looking at several proverbs, quotes, maxims, and aphorisms that contain some wisdom or rule for living a better life.
We’ll be learning a few key terms and also exploring the vocabulary within each proverb, while exploring the meaning and wisdom behind each one.
Episode Summary
Here’s a review of the points I mentioned in the episode.
Everything in Moderation 🧩
Meaning: Don’t have or do too much of anything — even good things can be harmful.
Example: “I love coffee, but I only drink one cup a day. Everything in moderation!”
Vocab highlight: moderation – the quality of avoiding extremes.
You Reap What You Sow 🌱
Literal meaning: Farmers harvest what they plant — if you plant wheat, you get wheat.
Cryptic meaning: Your actions have consequences; what you give to the world will eventually come back to you.
Example: “She always helps others, and now people support her when she needs it — you reap what you sow.”
Vocab highlight: reap / sow – to harvest / to plant seeds.
A Calm Sea Never Made a Skilled Sailor 💧
Literal meaning: If the ocean is always calm, a sailor never learns how to handle storms.
Cryptic meaning: Challenges and difficulties help us grow stronger and more capable.
Example: “Losing that job was hard, but I learned a lot from it. A calm sea never made a skilled sailor.”
Vocab highlight: skilled – having ability and experience.
Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket 🧠
Literal meaning: If you carry all your eggs in one basket and drop it, you lose them all.
Cryptic meaning: Don’t rely completely on one plan or opportunity — diversify your options.
Example: “I’m investing in several projects, not just one. You shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Vocab highlight: diversify – to spread risk or variety across several areas.
Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch 🐣
Literal meaning: Don’t assume all the eggs will hatch into chickens.
Cryptic meaning: Don’t celebrate success or make plans before you’re sure of the outcome.
Example: “I know the interview went well, but don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”
⭐️ Transcript & Bonus Lesson
Do you have a favourite quote?
Share it in the comments below
How can i study english grammars correctly?
and also i’m struggling with studying vocabulary
Nice questions!
First of all, I’ve done a few episodes on these topics. You might like to check out #132 8 Tips to Learn New Vocabulary and also #142 Having a Balance of English Grammar. I’m sure there are more too, so you can have a look here: https://levelupenglish.school/podcast/
For most people, basic grammar can be studied at the beginner levels. Then once you get to intermediate+, it’s usually best to focus more on practising (speaking, writing, etc.) and only look at grammar when you need to. For example, if you’re reading a book and you don’t understand the structure, you can research the grammar and try to practice it. Too much grammar study at this stage can affect your speaking negatively.
As for vocabulary, one of the best methods is simply increasing input – so that’s doing more listening and especially more reading. You could also consider flashcards to study, which I like, but that’s not necessary.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions
Hey, it’s me again, Kelly. I really loved this episode about proverbs. There are three I use the most with my college team and the younger kids in my family.
First one: ‘A calm sea never made a skilled sailor.’ I tell them this especially when they’re starting their first job after graduation. Don’t be afraid to face problems you’ve never seen before.
Second: ‘You reap what you sow.’ But I add a little reality check — if you’re born into a rich family, yeah, maybe you can gain extra from what other people sow, because of money or connections. But if you’re from an ordinary family, you really do reap what you sow. Even if some of what you earn gets taken away by those people I just mentioned.
And third: ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.’ I tell them, for any decision or action, always think about the best case, the middle ground, and the worst case. We aim for the best and work hard for it, we accept the moderate outcome, and we learn how to handle the worst.
These are three fantastic ones! Just trying to out these into practice can give you a lot of wisdom for life. I’m really glad you like this episode, Kelly – thanks!
Hello. Mr. mishael I’m new listener pls can u tell me from where do l start?
Hi Moha. Welcome to the podcast 🙂 Great question!
I suppose it depends on what you’ll enjoy.
Some people like to start from Episode 1, but I think for most people that might be a bit boring, and that’s a lot of content to go back through!
For most people, I’d recommend just listening each new episode, but you can also search for episodes here if there’s a specific thing you’d like to listen to (eg. Speaking skills, Making a routine, Where to start…)
Hope that gives you some ideas
Mr. Michael, I just wanted to mention that the moving camera feature can be a bit distracting and uncomfortable.
I agree! The purpose of that feature is to keep me centered in the frame, but I think the setting was too strong, so next time I’ll see if I can minimise it.