Russian proverbs, sayings, parables, statuses and aphorisms about wealth and poverty: the best selection, meaning

In Rus', as in modern Russia, there is a gap between rich and poor people. Since the creators of most Russian proverbs were ordinary people, in them the rich are ridiculed and criticized. The poor cause compassion and pain in the heart.

People characterize rich people with the following epithets: stingy, arrogant, stupid. The poor people are hungry and “in holes,” sometimes with humor, sometimes with sorrow, talking about their lives. The difference is in the way of life: the rich man “rakes in money with a shovel”, “is richly dressed up”, the poor one grieves that “his bag is empty”, “the bathhouse is old and his shirt is torn.”

Many proverbs about wealth and poverty are based on the technique of antithesis (contrast):

Rich is crooked, poor is straight. The rich man expects mischief, and the poor man awaits joy.

A significant layer of sayings is occupied by the topic of hunger . These proverbs do not contain the keywords “poverty and the poor,” but are thematically very close:

There is someone to beat and scold, but no one to feed. I bought a pretzel hole.

Proverbs about wealth and poverty, about rich and poor give us an idea of the life of the Russian people, the mentality and morals of former times. Despite the long history of existence, many sayings are still relevant today and are applicable to modern realities.

Russian proverbs about wealth and poverty: the best selection, meaning

Russian proverbs about wealth and poverty In literature lessons, schoolchildren begin to learn proverbs and sayings already in the 3rd grade. Teachers tell the meaning in class so that children understand what they mean, and also give homework. Here is the best selection of Russian proverbs, sayings about wealth and poverty with an explanation of the meaning:

Goal but not a thief, poor but honest (folk) - this proverb continues the theme of the “unclean” rich. She points out that sometimes it is better to be poor, but with a clear conscience, than to be wealthy, but made his fortune on blood, deceit and meanness.
Rich but crooked, poor but straight (verb) - the “crookedness” of a rich person means guile, a desire to fool someone for profit. The proverb says that it is better not to have negative thoughts, but to have little money, than to swim in luxury, but to be a bad person.
Miroshka is rich, but his bellies are like a dog and a cat (people) - rich people are quite often lonely for the reason that everyone is considered competitors. In addition to their distrust, they are greedy and vile. Therefore, they practically have no friends and lovers. A synonym for the proverb is the phrase “Why do you need money if you have no one to share it with?”
Poverty is not a sin, but leads to sin - a popular proverb says that sometimes a poor person who suffers from cold and hunger can commit a crime for a piece of bread. This happens when a person is taken to extremes.
A rich man would eat money if the poor man did not feed him bread (verb) - the first part of the proverb hints at the greed of rich people. And the second says that it is the poor people who work for their rich masters and masters who help them make a fortune and enrich them. Also, the phrase about the poor and bread can be interpreted differently - as a rule, poor, disadvantaged people are much more generous than those who wallow in luxury.
If God doesn't give you intelligence, you'll find money - a popular proverb says that a smart person will always find where to earn a piece of bread. And if a person does not have flexibility of thinking, if he does not have the intelligence to learn, if he is not quick, then he will remain in poverty.
Herding chickens - you can’t find good things (verb) - says that low-paid, slave work for pennies will never allow a person to make a decent fortune. He will continue to humiliate himself before the gentlemen for pennies and rejoice in the fact that what he earns once a day is enough for him to buy bread.
There is a lot of intelligence, but no money - a popular proverb alludes to the so-called “demagogue theorists”, who in their thoughts can give birth to brilliant strategies and plans for making money. But in reality, such people are unable to realize even part of their plans. And, quite possibly, it is better to be a more adaptable person, but less intelligent, than a person with high intelligence who cannot apply his skills and knowledge and cannot find a place for himself in the world.
Bare, bare, but there is an onion in the cabbage soup - a proverb from the people shows situations when people are disingenuous about their poverty, that is, they tell others that they have a ball, but in fact, they still have some good. Although they don’t talk about it.
We live - we chew bread, and sometimes we add salt - unlike rich people, the situation of the common people is unstable. Sometimes you have to “tighten up your belts,” and sometimes you have to treat yourself to something delicious.
The poor person is under attack everywhere - a popular proverb implies that a poor person is practically not respected anywhere, and he often gets the worst of this life.
The poor man gets married and the night is short - the proverb says that for poor people everything is of lower quality than for aristocrats. And that they are ready to deceive the poor everywhere. Of course, in the literal sense, the wedding night of both the poor and the rich should be equal. But it is not always the case. Let's say that when the master can still lie in bed with his wife, the poor newlyweds will have to get up early in the morning to go plow in the field.
Prosperity is the mother, poverty is the stepmother. The proverb hints that a rich life is more “affectionate” to a person than a hard, miserable existence. After all, the “stepmother” will never truly love other people’s children, but will only pretend to.
Poverty cries, but wealth leaps - the meaning of this proverb is that the poor always have a worse life than the rich. People who are wealthy have more fun, while the rest only have to work.

As you can see, the meaning of the proverb is easy to understand if you think about its content. Below we will talk about sayings. Read on.

Proverbs about rich and poor

Rich is crooked, poor is straight.

The rich man expects mischief, and the poor man awaits joy. The rich man wonders: how does the poor live? The rich create as he wants, but the poor do as he can. They grow wiser from need, and grow fat from wealth. Poverty cries, wealth gallops. The rich man expects mischief, and the poor man awaits joy. The rich are known to strangers, the poor are invisible to their own people. The rich spoon is a ladle, the poor spoon is a paddle. Rich by patronymic, poor by nickname. The rich are sorry for the ship, and the poor are sorry for the wallet. Wealth is for an hour, and poverty is for a century. Wealth with money, wealth with fun. The mind gives birth to wealth, but the latter takes away poverty. The rich - so hello, and the poor - so farewell! The rich do not understand the poor. The rich are not the poor's brother. The rich feast on weekdays, but the poor grieve on holidays. The rich man should steal, and the poor man should swear. To the request of the poor, the ears of the rich are deaf. The rich man would eat money if he didn’t feed the poor man bread. And we saw how the boyars ate. The princes are in a dress and the boyars are in a dress, our brothers will also be wearing a dress. Some in damask, some in brocade, and we in canvas - along the same bridge. It is better to live poor than to become rich through sin. Peasant work will not make you rich, but you will be hunchbacked. They grow wiser from need, and grow fat from wealth.

Russian sayings about wealth and poverty: the best selection, meaning

Russian sayings about wealth and poverty
Sayings are similar in meaning to proverbs, but they may not be in the form of a sentence, but in the form of a separate phrase. Below you will find the best selection of Russian sayings about wealth and poverty. Here is the meaning of some of them:

Poverty teaches, but wealth spoils (verb) - the saying once again confirms the fact that a well-fed, prosperous existence can make a person greedy, greedy, and vile. But poverty can force a person to think (the need for invention is cunning) about how to live in this world and where to earn their daily bread.
The rich man cannot sleep: the rich man is afraid of the thief (verb) - despite his capital, the rich man does not have carelessness. He is always worried that he might lose his wealth.
Wealth is water: it came and went - the saying means that everything in life is not eternal. Today a person bathes in luxury, and tomorrow, by an absurd accident, he can become extremely poor and fall to the bottom of life.
Any income does not come without effort - a popular saying (similar to “You can’t pull a fish out of a pond without work”) means that in order to receive a monetary reward, you need to work hard. And it doesn’t even matter what the work will be, physical or mental. One thing is important - money is not given for nothing. To get paid, you need to do something.
Money is strong by counting, money loves counting - the proverb and popular beliefs say that capital increases with those who love banknotes and constantly count them. This is a kind of ritual that must be repeated tirelessly in order to get rich. Also, counting money means keeping track of your income and expenses, which allows you to succeed.
Bread is expensive if there is no money - a popular saying says that those who have a lot of money do not pay attention to the cost of goods. The poor have to struggle for every penny.
Do not boast of silver, boast of goodness - the proverb hints that wealth does not make a person good. You need to be kind and act according to your conscience.
They become wiser from need, and from wealth they become stupid - in order to survive and feed their family, a poor person has to build complex survival schemes. A rich person becomes stupid because he does not need to care or think about anything, as well as from constant idleness.
When you are full, remember hunger, and when you are rich, remember poverty - even when you become wealthy, you need to remember “where you came from,” respect the poor and their work. Many rich people have the sin that, having earned a fortune, they forget that they, too, once had problems with their finances. They become arrogant and narcissistic, and don’t think much of others.
He lives needlessly who saves money - a popular saying says that money must be saved. They are earned in order to spend them on their needs, so you should not feel sorry for them. But at the same time, if you spend a lot of it, there won’t be any money.

Now you know several proverbs and sayings about poverty and wealth. Interesting parables are published below. Read on.

Proverbs about wealth and the rich

And the rich man even sheds tears for gold.

Rich, strong and powerful; and cancer is a claw. (moshna - a small bag for storing money, with ties) Everyone respects a rich man, even a fool. They live richly - they drink water from the raft. For the rich, it’s cramped in heaven. The rich man cannot sleep: the rich man is afraid of the thief. The rich know neither truth nor friendship. Gain wealth and forget brotherhood. Wealth is a quick path to evil. Wealth is the arrogance of relatives. Wealth will not save a person from death. Wealth cannot buy intelligence. The rich got up before us and snapped up everything. A rich man lies - no one can stop him. The rich will not buy his conscience, but will destroy his own. A rich man is like a horned bull: he cannot fit into a narrow gate. If you are rich, you will also be stingy. I will be rich, I will be horned: whomever I want, I will gore. The one who lives is the one who manages the money. You can't keep up with the rich. Dead and rich are never guilty. Money is tight - everyone is her servant. A rich man shovels money. A rich man is like a horned bull. The smart one is the one who is richly dressed. The rich rich man has a lot of beer and honey, but he could throw it into the water with a stone. A rich threshing floor has a smart pig.

Wise parables about wealth and poverty - interesting, instructive: with meaning

Wise parables about wealth and poverty
The philosophy of wealth is such that it is not clear whether wealth always means money and vice versa. Read wise parables about wealth and poverty - interesting and instructive, with meaning:

PARABLE “ABOUT REALLY RICH PEOPLE”:

One wealthy father decided to introduce his little son to the life of poor people. He took him to the village, to the farm of one extremely poor family. The rich people stayed in this family for a day. They returned home. The father asked the little dream if he liked the trip.

He replied:

- Yes, dad, I really liked it!

— What did this trip show you? - asked the father

“We have one dog, and they have four,” said the kid. “We have a pool, and they have a bay, from which a beautiful view of the sea opens.” We light the lamps in the garden, and the heavenly bodies shine on them. Thank you, Dad, for showing me true human wealth.

Explanation:

The parable shows that a sincere child's soul was able to discern the main thing. Whatever your wealth, happiness lies not in money, but in the ability to see beauty. And it’s better to be a poor person living life to the fullest than a bird in a “golden cage.”

PARABLE “ABOUT POVERTY AND WEALTH”:

Wealth and poverty came to a man and they asked which of them was more beautiful. The man hesitated. He thought that if he praised poverty, then wealth would leave him. And if he says that wealth is better, then poverty will be offended and will become his companion for the rest of his life. The man thought and said:

“I can’t appreciate your beauty while you’re standing next to me.” Try to walk, I will look at you from different angles.

Poverty and Wealth began to spin, showing themselves from a better angle. The man thought and concluded:

- You, poverty, are beautiful from behind. When are you leaving. And you, Wealth, are beautiful when you turn your face.

Explanation:

It would seem that what is good about poverty? Only that it can be temporary. And the good thing about wealth is that it can come unexpectedly. In this case, the person not only made the right conclusion, but also judged the heroines of the dispute in such a way that none of them was offended.

Beautiful and life statuses about poverty and wealth: list, what does it mean?

Beautiful and life statuses about poverty and wealth
Social networks occupy a special place in the life of every person. In them we meet, fall in love, talk about our news and passions. In general, people now live on social networks. The status for any page is a statement about yourself, about your views on existence. Below you will find beautiful and life-like statuses about poverty and wealth. Here is a list of what they mean and who these words belong to:

Being rich and having money are two different things . A rich person is not one who has a lot of money, but one who is satisfied with his life.
Wealth depends on hard work and a sense of proportion - B. Franklin. In other words, the key is to use your time and money wisely.
The best wealth is indifference to what others have - Ali ibn Abu Talib.
It is easier to ask from the poor than from the rich - Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.
It is not wealth that makes a person happy, but happiness that makes a person rich - Jonathan Zakarin.
The richest man is the man whose joys require the least money - Henry David Thoreau.
If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it - John Davidson Rockefeller.
People don't want to be rich, people want to be richer than others - John Stuart Mill.
The poorest is the one who does not know how to use what he has - Igor Guberman.
I have never been repulsed by a person’s poverty; it’s another matter if his soul and thoughts are poor - Omar Khayyam.
If you are rich, don't think about it, if you are poor, don't take your poverty seriously - Zen principle.

If you want to show off your intelligence and tell everyone that you have philosophical views on life, then you can choose one of these statuses and put it on your social network page.

Proverbs about hunger

There is someone to beat and scold, but no one to feed.

My belly hurts and I'm staring at the edges. The belly does not play the harp; if it does not eat, it will not fall asleep. There was life - food and drink; Now there is no food or drink to live. Water won't make your stomach cloudy. Everything is one: both bread and chaff. All clothes: two mats and a festive bag. Drive your hunger out into the cold. Where there is hunger, there is cold. It’s bare, bare, but there’s an onion in the cabbage soup. Hunger does not make your stomach swell, but it will teach you to walk easily. Hunger drives the wolf out of the forest. Hunger kills and drives us around the world. Hunger is not a neighbor—you can’t escape it. Hunger is not your aunt, frost is not your brother. Hunger is not an aunt, she won’t give you a pie. You won't go hungry with bread. You can't satisfy the hungry with songs. A hungry chicken dreams about everything. To the hungry, honey mushrooms are meat. Hungry Fedot is keen on turnips. A hungry person even sees bread in a dream. A hungry wolf is stronger than a well-fed dog. A hungry person would take a bite out of a stone. A hungry person does not count holidays. A hungry man is not afraid of robbery. It’s our sorrow that without butter it’s porridge. Lunch without bread is bitter. I love the thick stuff more, but I can see the thick stuff even at home. We don’t cook for a day, we don’t cook for two, we wait a day and then we don’t cook again. Bread is precious if there is no money. We won’t feed you enough, and we won’t starve to death. His dogs ate oatmeal, ours looked at them through the backdrop. There is milk, but it’s a long way to get it. Eat cabbage soup with meat, but if not, eat bread with kvass. You have never sat by the water without bread. We live - we chew bread, and sometimes we add salt. We live well: we have established two kvass, one is like water, the other is even thinner. There are teeth, but nothing to eat. And we saw how the boyars ate. And then it happened that we ate porridge, and now we eat prison in honor. And it’s funny that my stomach feels so bad. If only I knew where to dine today. The treasury will not starve to death, nor will it feed you enough. Like a toothless chicken - still hungry. The porridge is not ours, the pot is not ours. The gruel is lean, and even without cereals. If they don’t bake it at home, they won’t give it to people. I would have bought lard, but there was no money. I bought a pretzel hole. Lots of rye, but all quinoa. For lunch - bread and salt and water; For dinner, our grief, there is rye porridge, but I could eat something like that, there’s no such thing. Even a magpie wouldn’t fall for a gnawed bone. Every burden is heavy on an empty belly. A hungry man will cross the field, but a naked man will not move. Not everything is with meat, foreign or kvass. Not everyone has enough supplies; you can live with kvass, and sometimes with water. I don't care about fat, I wish I could live. You can’t knead it thickly, like the barn is empty. They don’t say that they eat a lot, but they say that there is nowhere to get it. It’s easier if you don’t have dinner, but if you have dinner, it’s better. Someone else's dinner is no more joyful than your own home. It is not the hand of a peasant son to eat rolls. It’s not a problem that there is quinoa in the rye, but it’s a disaster that there is neither rye nor quinoa. Don’t push like a belt tug, and even those will break. There is nowhere to lay your head. There was not a drop of dew or a drop of powder in my mouth. Need will teach you how to bake rolls. Now on an empty stomach, tomorrow on an empty stomach - they drag a cow from the yard. Today it’s oatmeal, tomorrow it’s oatmeal; Yes, just like every day it’s the same thing, so it gets boring. My father lived unevenly: there is bread, but there is no salt, there is salt, but there is no bread. The cow also gets used to rye straw. They cooked it for seeds and ate it down to the grain. You won't be full by looking at it. I would really like to drink tea: there is water and coals, but no tea or sugar. Our Vlas has no bones or meat. Bread and salt and some water.

Aphorisms about poverty and wealth: the best sayings

Aphorisms about poverty and wealth
Aphorisms were invented by many famous people. Some of them simply threw out a phrase and turned it into such a statement, while others specially composed it so that ordinary people could understand the meaning of life. Here are the best sayings and aphorisms about wealth and poverty:

In a society of pure-hearted and hardworking people, poverty is something to be ashamed of. And among the idle and wicked there is wealth. Lev Tolstoy.
If limitation is the strength of the poor, then greed is the poverty of the rich . Publius Sir.
When the people have nothing else to eat, they will begin to eat the rich . Jean Jacques Rousseau.
I love the rich. I swear and affirm that the rich are kind (because it costs them nothing) and beautiful (because they dress well). If you cannot be a man, handsome, or noble, you must be rich. Marina Tsvetaeva.
A poor person of any rank is almost always decent, a rich person is prone to fraud. To get rich, it is not enough to be clever and enterprising. J. Labruyère.
Poverty and wealth are words for need and abundance. Therefore, whoever is in need is not rich, and whoever is not in need is not poor. Democritus
The wealthy differ from the poor in that the former eat whenever they want. And the second when they can. V. Roley.
The rich chase capital, and the poor chase rich people. Thomas Fuller.

Now you can use any of these sayings and set a status on a social network or respond to someone’s complaint or other saying. Children will need proverbs and sayings to help them do their homework or class work. Good luck!