Phrase | Meaning | Notes | Source |
| | | |
Ajsi bori lachi: xal bilondo, phenel londo | Such a daughter-in-law is good who eats unsalted food and says it is salted | Slovakia | 1.40 |
Akana mukav tut le Devlesa | I now leave you to God | Lovara, funeral comment | 3.79 |
Amaro baro them | Our big land, ie ancestral homeland | | 1.109 |
Ande save vitsa | In which vitsa | | 9.193 |
Ando gav bi zhuklesko jal o pavori bi destesko | In the village without dogs the farmers walked without sticks | | 3.167 |
Ando gav bi zhuklesko shai piravel o manush bi destesko | In a village without a dog a man can walk without a stick | | 3.175 |
Ashen Devlesa, Romale | May you remain with God | | 3.214 |
Baxt hai sastimos tiri patragi | Wish luck and good health | Said on Slavas | 9.119 |
Bengesko niamso | Cursed German | | 4.87 |
Bi kashtesko merel i yag | Without wood the fire would die | | 3.56 |
Bolde tut, kako | Please turn away | If she was unable to avoid passing in front of one or between two men, a gypsy woman might say this to avoid possible marhime | 3.151 |
Chailo sim | I am replete (ie full) | | 3.30 |
Das dab ka i roata le neve vurdoneski | To give a push to the wheel of the new wagon | i.e. to provide a kick-start to newlywed households | 3.201 |
Devlesa araklam tume | It is with God that we found you | | 3.245 |
Devlesa avilan | It is God who brought you | | 3.245 |
Droboy tume Romale | | Traditional greeting (response is Nais tuke (thank you) | 3.149 |
Dza devlesa | God go with you | Russia | 2.90 |
El Crallis ha nicobado la liri de los Cales | The king has taken away the law of the gypsies | Cale; note the hybrid of Romani lexicon and Castilian phonology, morphology and syntax | 6.167 |
Feri ando payi sitsholpe te nauyas | It was in the water that one learned to swim | Lovara | 3.60 |
Gadje Gadjensa, Rom Romensa | Gadje with Gadje, Rom with Rom | | 4.96 |
I chatski tsinuda de tehara, vai de haino, khal tut | The true nettle stings from the beginning | | 4.94 |
I chirikleski kul chi perel duvar pe yek than | The droppings of the flying bird never fall twice on the same spot | | 4.24 |
Isi ili daba | Here there are also smacks | | 1.35 |
Isi ma xarica love; so hramosorav andi gazeta; a-ko isi pomoshinav tumen | I have a little money; I am a journalist; maybe I can help you | | 1.209 |
Jekh dilo kerel but dile hai but dile keren dilimata | One madman makes many madmen, and many madmen make madness | | 1.37 |
Ka xlia ma pe tute | I am going to shit on you | Albania | 1.34 |
Kai zhal o vurdon vurma mekela | Where the wagon goes a trail is left | | 4.97 |
Kaski san? | Whose are you? | | 9.193 |
Kay zhala I suv shay zhala wi o thav | Where the needle goes, surely the thread will follow | | 4.95 |
Kon del tut o nai shai dela tut wi o vast | He who willingly gives you one finger will also give you the whole hand | | 3.205 |
Kon khakhavel o balo wi leste si I shuri | He who feeds the pig also holds the knife over it when it is fattened | | 4.115 |
Kon khal but, khal peski bakht | He who eats much eats away his own luck | Kalderash saying | 3.224 |
Love k-o vast, bori k-o grast | Money in hand, bride on horse | | 1.286 |
Mandar tsera tai kater o Del mai but te aven tumenge | From me a little money, but may God give you plenty | ?tumenge -> humungous | 3.201 |
Mashkar le gadjende leski shib si le Romeski zor | Surrounded by the Gadje, the Rom's only defence is his tongue | | 3.51 |
May angle sar te merel kadi yag | Before this fire burns out | Armaya | 3.169 |
May kali i muri may gugli avela | The darker the berry the sweeter it is | Lovara | 3.54 |
May mishto les o thud katar i gurumni kai tordjol | It is easier to milk a cow that stands still | | 3.53 |
May mishto phabol o kasht o chordano | Stolen wood burns better for being stolen | | 4.94 |
May sigo sar te may khav | Before I even have my next meal | Armaya | 3.169 |
Me mangav te jav ando granitza tumensa | I want to go to the border with you | | 1.208 |
Me piav pani | I drink water | Cf Skr me pina pani = to drink water | 1.108 |
Me san de spiroski shey | I am Spiro's daughter | | 9.193 |
Me som Bardu | I am Bardu | | 1.218 |
Mukhenpe te khan la lumia | If they conquer the world | | 4.90 |
Na bister 500,000 | Don't forget the 500,000 | Ref to the holocaust | 1.243 |
Na daran Romale vi ame sam Rom chache | Do not fear, you Gypsy men, for we too are Gypsieis | | 3.245 |
Na may kharunde kai chi khal tut | Not to scratch where it doesn't it | | 3.52 |
Nais tuke | Thank you | | 3.149 |
Nashti zhas vorta po drom o bango | You cannot walk straight when the road is bent | | 4.102 |
O chavorro na biandola dandencar | The child is not born with teeth | Albania | 1.44 |
O lov tai o beng nashti beshen patshasa | Neither money nor the devil can remain in peace | | 3.240 |
O manusha khelevan tut | The people make you dance | Said if a place is nice | 1.59 |
O shoshoy kaste si feri yek khiv sigo athadjol | The rabbit which has only one hole soon is caught | | 4.89 |
O Spiro le tinshasko shav | The Spiro who is the son of Tinha | | 9.193 |
O ushalin zhala sar o kam mangela | The shadow moves as the sun commands | | 4.31 |
O xonxano baro | The great trick | Spanish Romani, a type of swindle | 6.62 |
O zalzaro khal peski piri | Acid corrodes its own container | | 4.97 |
Opre Roma! | Roma Arise! | Slogan of the first World Romani Congress | 6.317 |
Ov yilo isi | Is it okay | Lit. is there heart here | 1.75 |
Pachiv tumenge Romale | "This song was offered as a gift to worthy men" | | 3.94 |
Perdal l paya | Beyond the waters | i.e. the Americas | 3.239 |
Piri telemosa chi athadjol o kam | The kettle that lies face down cannot get much sunlight | | 4.96 |
Prohasar man opre pirende - sa muro djiben semas opre chengende | Bury me standing - I've been on my knees all my life | | 1.304 |
Putrav lesko drom angle leste te na inkrav les mai but palpale mura brigasa | I open his way in the new life again and release him from the fetters of my sorrow | Ritual phrase to mark the end of mourning | 3.236 |
Rode chia bora le kanensa tai te na le yakensa | Select one's daughter-in-law with the ears and not with the eyes | Pay more attention to reputation than looks | 3.181 |
Romale tai shavale akarel tume o Pulika | By your leave, gypsy men and youths, this is Pulika calling you | The proper, formal way to address Rom | 3.212 |
Romale tai Shavale, Churara tai wi Lovara | Gypsy men and youths, Churara and Lovara alike | | 4.150 |
Sako peskero charo dikhel | Everybody sees only his own dish | | 1.35 |
Sar laci and'ekh vadra | Like crabs in a bucket | | 1.296 |
Savo Spiro | Which Spiro? | | 9.193 |
Shuk tski khalpe la royasa | Beauty cannot be eaten with a spoon | | 3.181 |
Si khohaimo may pachivalo sar o chachimo | There are lies more believable than truth | | 3.82 |
Stanki nashti chi arakenpe manushen shai | Mountains do not meet, but people do | | 3.206 |
Te avel angla tute, kodo khabe tai kado pimo tai menge pe sastimaste | May this food be before you, and in your memory, and may it profit us in good health and in good spirit | | 3.235 |
Te avel angle tute | May this be before you | | 3.80 |
Te avel mange bakht drago mange wi te avav po gunoy | All we need is good luck. With luck I would not even mind sitting on a dunghill | | 4.95 |
Te aves yertime mander tai te yertil tut o Del | I forgive you and may God forgive you as I do | | 3.179 |
Te bisterdon tumare anava | May your names be forgotten | | 1.59 |
Te den, xa, te maren, de-nash | When you are given, eat, when you are beaten, run away | Nash - run - whence nash | 1.35 |
Te khalion tai te shingerdjon che gada, hai tu te trais sastimasa tai voyasa | May your clothes rip and wear out, but may you live on in good health and in fulfillment | Armaya | 3.107 |
Te lolirav I phuv mure ratesa | May I redden the earth with my blood | Armaya | 3.175 |
Te malavel les i menkiva | May the malignant disease waste him | | 4.92 |
Te merav | May I die | Armaya | 3.169 |
Te merel amaro kuro o lasho | May our favourite stallion die | Armaya | 3.169 |
Te merel muri shey | May my child die tomorrow | Armaya | 9.134 |
Te merel muro dad, muri, dei | May my father, mother, brothers die | Armaya | 3.169 |
Te na khuchos perdal cho ushalin | To try to jump over your own shadow | Lovara | 3.44 |
Te pabaren mange memelia | May you burn candles for me | Armaya | 3.169 |
Te phirav pa-o gav | Lit. To go about the village ie to beg | Poland | 1.200 |
Te pochinen penge lazhav | Pay for their shame | | 3.174 |
Te prakhon man pasho o X | May I be buried next to X | Armaya | 3.169 |
Te shordjol muri godji sar shordjol kadi bera | May my brains flow out the way this beer flows out if ... | Lovara armaya | 3.166 |
Te shordjol muro rat | May my blood spill | Armaya | 3.169 |
Te vestinel o dosti Tito, te vestinena o jugoslovenske manusha | Long live comrade Tito and long live the Yugoslav people | | 1.20 |
Te xav ka to biav | May I eat at your wedding | | 1.76 |
Yekka buliasa nashti beshes pe done grastende | With one behind you can't sit on two horses | | 3.47 |
Yodjo la Mimako Zhamutro | Lit. "Yodjo, Mimi's son-in-law | | 3.115 |
Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa | Go with God and in good health | | 4.95 |