По одёжке встречают, по уму провожают
With accent marks:
По одёжке встреча́ют, по уму́ провожа́ют.
Translation:
You are greeted by your clothes but bid farewell by your mind.
Meaning:
We all tend to judge others and the first judgement comes from how people look (their clothes, manners). Moreover, we often automatically ascribe qualities to attractive people that they may not have: we consider them smarter, more intelligent, more interesting than someone else whose appearance is not so expressive. But behind a beautiful picture you can not hide emptiness, narrow-mindedness and quarrelsome character. So you are greeted by your clothes, but it's your mind and intelligence define how people will say goodbye to you.
Other Russian proverbs
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Strike the iron while it's hot.
-
На Бога надейся, а сам не плошай
Put your trust in God, but don't make mistakes yourself
-
Eggs don't teach the chicken.
-
Fear has big eyes.
-
Кто рано встаёт, тому бог подает
(lit.) Whoever gets up early, God gives him
-
Кабы знал, где упасть, так соломки бы подстелил
If I knew where I would fall, I would lay some straw there.
-
Заставь дурака богу молиться – он и лоб расшибёт
Make a fool pray to God - he will break his forehead.
-
Не руби сук, на котором сидишь
Do not chop the branch you sit on
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