10 examples of Filipino proverbs

1. He who does not love the national language is worse than a smelly fish.
In my understanding, this proverb means that people who doesn’t love the national language
disrespects the whole country.

2. There is no need to cry over spilt milk.

In my understanding, this simply means that when you make a mistake, in the very end you
can’t do anything but regret.

3. If you plant, you harvest.

This means that if you put effort to something, there will be a good outcome regarding with that
thing.

4. A quitter never wins, a winner never quits.

This means that if you give up easily, you will never win. Therefore, you should not give up easily
if you want to be a winner.

5. If someone throws stones at you, throw back bread.

This means that you should not revenge to people harshly because it will just cause more
troubles.

6. An empty container makes a lot of noise.

In my understanding, people who don’t understand something will be noisy

7. Opportunity only knocks once: Grab it or you'll lose it.

Meaning that if there is an opportunity, you should do that opportunity, because that
opportunity only happens once.

8. No pain, no gain.
Meaning that in order to achieve success, you have to endure painful and hard tasks.

9. You will know a true friend in time of need.

Meaning that the true friends are those people who help you when you are in the time of need.

10. Strength is defeated by strategy.

Meaning that no matter how strong your opponent is, you can beat him/her if you are strategic.
 2 examples of Philippine myths
The myth about the Lanzones fruit
A long time ago, the Lanzones fruit
was poisonous. The fruit looked edible
enough, and in fact many were tempted to
sample it. Some people, despite the death
toll, could not fight off the temptation once
they see the fruits abundantly display
themselves in clusters hanging invitingly on
the lanzones tree. Several deaths in the
village had been linked to eating its fruits.
One day, a hungry old woman came
to the village begging for food. The kind
villagers gladly gave the old woman food
and water and clothes to wear. The woman
was awed by the kindness of the villagers.
One day, while staying with the
people, she learned about the lanzones
fruits that could not be eaten because they
were poisonous. She asked the people
where the tree was. They gladly obliged.
Then, upon seeing the lanzones tree and its
fruits, the old woman smiled knowingly. She
announced to the people that the fruit was
edible, to everyone’s wary delight.
Lesson: Be kind and helpful to people who
are in the time of need.
The Myth of the Guava Fruit
A long time ago, the guava fruit is a forbidden fruit,
and in a fruit orchard somewhere in the countryside, there
lived a boy from the family of the Abas, the family who
owned the fruit orchard. The boy Abas was very friendly and
kind, and soon the people in the place started calling him
“Bay” (pronunciation: “buy”).
Bay Abas was especially kind to the needy. So every
needy folk who came by to ask for fruit from their orchard
he gave to liberally. Various fruit-bearing trees were in their
orchard, and each one with ripe fruits he picked from and
gave to anyone who asked. As he did, the orchard noticeably
bore more fruits than any orchard in the locality. And more
new trees also mysteriously appeared in their orchard.
One day an old woman came by the orchard and
asked Bay Abas some fruits to eat. Unfortunately, not a tree
had fruit that time, save the forbidden tree. Nonchalantly,
he whispered a wish, or something like a prayer and he
thought of sampling the fruit to find out once and for all. HIs
wish, says the myth, reached the ears of the forest gods. The
fruit quickly turned edible just before he took his first bite.
And so from that time on, the fruit became edible and
named “Bayabas,” otherwise known as Guava fruit.
Lesson: Always be helpful to others and trust yourself.
 8 examples of Philippine legends
The Legend of Mangoes
Once upon a time, there was a little boy
named Ben who had a wonderful heart named
Ben.
One day, Ben saw a very old beggar and
decided to invite the old beggar into their humble
home and he cooked food and fed the old beggar
until he could not eat anymore. After a sumptuous
meal, the beggar thanked the young lad.
On another day, while Ben was looking for
fire woods, he passed by an old man who was also
very hungry. He invited the old man back to their
home and gave him food and some clothes that his
father does not use anymore. Ben’s parents were
happy that they have a son who has a heart of gold
like Ben.
Unfortunately, the time came that Ben
suddenly got very ill. His parents were troubled.
But despite that, they persisted to have their son
treated but to no avail, Ben died. The next day,
after Ben’s death, a beautiful fairy came to Ben’s
wake and talked to his parents. She asked them to
give her Ben’s heart. They agreed and gave it to
her. The fairy then flew away and in a mountain,
she dug and buried Ben’s dead heart. It then
turned into a fruit-bearing tree whose fruits were
in the shape of a heart and whose taste was so
sweet.
From then till now, people enjoy the
benefits of this wonderful fruit.
Lesson: Always be helpful for good outcome.
The Legend of Durian
One upon a time, there was a king called Barom-
Mai, and he ruled with an iron fist. But powerful as he
was, he couldn’t keep his young and beautiful queen from
running off to her father’s kingdom every chance she got.
Desperate, the king consulted Impit Purok, a half-
god hermit, on how to make his wife remain by his side.
The hermit told the king to obtain three things: the egg of
the black tabon, twelve ladles of fresh milk from a
blemish-free carabao, and the nectar from the flower of
the tree of make-believe. The king was able to get all three
items in the end.
Impit Purok was pleased at the completion of the
task, but before he worked his magic, he made the king
promise to make him the guest of honor at the feast
celebrating the queen’s return. Barom-Mai agreed. The
hermit made a magic potion using the ingredients. Impit
Purok then told the king to plant the potion in his garden,
and to make his wife eat the fruit of the tree that would
spring from it.
Barom-Mai followed the hermit’s orders and
indeed, his wife did fall in love with him after one taste of
the smooth and fragrant enchanted fruit. Overjoyed, the
king called for a big celebration, but consequently forgot
to invite the hermit. Indignant at the snub, Impit Purok
cursed the fruit, replacing its sweet fragrance with a nasty
odor and covering its hide with thorns. The fruit became
known as durian.
Lesson: Never break your promise.
The Legend of Maria Makiling
Once upon a time, there
lives a beautiful goddess named
Maria Makiling. She was a very
caring and loving individual, and
regularly helped people by giving
fruits to the poor. It is said that these
fruits turned into gold once they
were taken home, thereby helping
the people financially.
One day some hunters
went up the forest and accidentally
found Maria’s home. While they
were there, they ransacked the
place, stealing her gems and killing
many animals in the process.
This angered her, which
caused her to distrust people from
then on. She saw this violation as an
affront to everything she held dear
and, soon after she placed a curse
upon those who would disrespect
the forest again.
Lesson: Don’t abuse the nature,
instead, be thankful for it.
The Legend of Bayabas
Before the Spaniards
landed in the Philippines, the island
of Sulu was ruled over by a Sultan
named Barrabas. He was selfish and
cruel. And like a neurotic beauty
queen, he was never seen in public
without his crown.
One day, Sultan Barrabas
was feasting on a massive banquet
by himself when a beggar child
appeared out of nowhere and
begged him for a bite to eat. At first,
the sultan ignored the kid and went
back to gorging on his personal
Spiral buffet. In a fit of impatience,
Sultan Barrabas grabbed a steaming
bowl of soup and dumped its
contents over the child’s head. The
beggar boy then abruptly vanished,
as the sultan collapsed to the floor.
He died shortly after, and was given
a funeral without much fanfare.
Some months after a new
sultan was crowned, a tree took
root on the previous ruler’s grave.
On its branches hung fruits with
protrusions on the bottom that
looked like tiny crowns, much like
the one that Sultan Barrabas never
took off. It wasn’t long before
people started calling the small
green orbs “barrabas” (which later
evolved to bayabas), after the king
whose face and disposition was as
sour as the fruits’ flesh.
Lesson: Don’t be mean to people
in need.
The Legend of
Chocolate Hills
A very long time
ago, there came two giants
from the opposite side of
Bohol Island. One came from
the south end and the other
from the north tip. The two
fights verbally claiming that
this is their island. Fearing
for their lives, the people left
and settled in the remote
areas of the island.
It recently rained so
it’s muddy everywhere. The
giant from the north made a
ball out of the mud and
threw it at the other one.
The giant from the south
also did this. They threw
mud balls at each other for
several hours and after that,
they had a fist-to-fist fight
and both died for good. After
the fight, the giant mud balls
are now the chocolate hills,
and people safely got back to
their homes after the fight.
Lesson: Don’t revenge
since it will only cause
troubles.
 The Legend of Mount Kanlaon
There once lived on the island of
Negros a princess named Anina who lived a
very sheltered life. One day, Anina
overheard her father talking to the
kingdom’s chief priestess. The priestess
was frantic about a report that they could
not find a single maiden who was
unblemished.
Later, Anina asked her father
what it was all about, and the king finally
broke down. There had long been a seven-
headed dragon threatening the kingdom,
and the monster could only be appeased if
an unblemished maiden was sacrificed to
it.
In fear, all the women in the
kingdom had cut themselves to disqualify
themselves from the sacrifice. Parents cut
their own baby girls so as to spare the
infants from the sacrifice. But the king and
the queen couldn’t bring themselves to
mar their daughter’s beauty, and so Anina
was the only remaining unscarred female
in the kingdom.
Anina did not weep. Instead, she
willingly offered herself for the sacrifice.
Fortuitously, on the day she was to be
brought to the mountain where the dragon
lived, a man calling himself Khan Laon
appeared. He said he can slay the dragon
and spare Anina’s life. He asked the help of
the ants, the bees and the eagles.
The ants swarmed over the
dragon’s body and crept under its scales to
bite its soft, unprotected flesh, while the
bees stung the fourteen eyes of the dragon
till it was blind. The largest eagle carried
Khan Laon to the mountain where he was
able to easily chop off the seven heads of
the writhing beast.
In gratitude, the king gave Khan
Laon his daughter Anina to be his bride,
and the people named the mountain after
the noble lord, and that is how Mount
Kanlaon got its name.
Lesson: Be always brave.
The Legend of Makahiya
Long time ago, there
was a couple in Barangay
Masagana (Pampanga today)
who wanted a daughter. Their
wish was granted and the
wife gave birth to a baby girl.
They called her Maria. Maria
was very beautiful but very
shy that she wouldn't go out
from their house.
Weeks later,
Spaniards came to their town.
The Spaniards were very cruel
that they get everything they
wanted. They rob houses and
kill everyone who gets in their
way and who refuses to give
what they wanted.
The couple was very
frightened to lose their
daughter so, they hid Maria in
the bushes so the Spaniards
couldn't find her.
After the Spaniards
left their town, the couple
tried to look for Maria but
they couldn't find her even in
the bushes where they hid
her, instead they found a little
plant that is very sensitive
that when you touch it, it
would immediately close.
So they thought it
was their daughter, Maria.
They called the plant
"Makahiya" that means
"touch me not," like their
daughter who was very shy.
Lesson: Always protect
your family.
The Legend of Makopa
Once upon a time, there was a town that
never goes hungry because of a mysterious gong that
provides them with the food they wish. Some bandits
from a different town plotted to steal it away from
the townspeople and hide it in their own town. The
townspeople were informed about these bandits’
plot of stealing their most precious gong, so they hid
it somewhere in the forest.
At last, the bandits invaded their town and
the townspeople fought with all their might to drive
these bandits away. They were successful and the
bandits fled all wounded or dying. Unfortunately, the
battle has caused the townspeople many lives as well
including the lives of the people who were assigned
to hide the mysterious gong. Nobody knew where
they hid the mysterious gong and so, they still have
suffered the loss of their treasure. The gong was not
found for years and the townspeople grew hungry.
Years passed and nobody had found the
mysterious gong. The people are suffering from
poverty already.
One day, a young boy was walking along the
forest and saw a tree with fruits that look like a gong.
The young boy climbed up the tree, tried eating the
fruit and was surprised that it tastes really good. He
took some of its fruit along with him to give to the
townspeople.
Upon seeing the fruit that the boy brought
with him, they believed that the mysterious gong was
hidden underneath that tree. They immediately went
to the place where the young boy had found the tree
with the gong-shaped fruits and there they dug out
the roots and everybody rejoiced as they have found
their lost treasure. Underneath the tree was the
mysterious gong.
They had found the key to their abundant
life and they never went hungry again. In addition to
that, they also enjoy the delicious gong-shaped fruit
and up this very day, people still enjoy the delicious
fruit now known as Makopa.
Lesson: Never steal anybody’s property and be
patient.