🗣️ Egypt: “A bird in the hand is better than ten on the tree”

Arabic proverb · Africa

عصفور في اليد خير من عشرة على الشجرة

ʿuṣfūrun fī al-yadi khayrun min ʿashrin ʿalā ash-shajara

“A bird in the hand is better than ten on the tree”

A small certain possession beats a large uncertain promise — the same wisdom as the English 'bird in the hand'.

About this proverb

Origin country	Egypt
Region	Africa
Language	Arabic
Romanisation	ʿuṣfūrun fī al-yadi khayrun min ʿashrin ʿalā ash-shajara

This saying belongs to the oral tradition of Egypt, a country in Africa. Read the full collection of Egypt proverbs, or explore the Proverbs of the World index.

الصديق وقت الضيق

aṣ-ṣadīqu waqta ḍ-ḍīq

“A friend is (known) at the time of hardship”

A friend in need is a friend indeed — real friendship is proven in trouble, not in good times.

Proverbs are traditional folk heritage (public domain); the translation and explanation are our own plain-English rendering. Stored statically.

Traditional sayings from around the world, each with its original wording, a romanisation, a plain-English translation and what it really means.

Folk wisdom from 6 Africa countries in the collection.

Folk wisdom from 4 Americas countries in the collection.

Folk wisdom from 12 Asia countries in the collection.

Folk wisdom from 15 Europe countries in the collection.

Folk wisdom from 2 Oceania countries in the collection.