Popular Coptic proverb: Ⲉϥϯ ⲙⲡϩⲁⲗⲁⲕ ⲙⲫⲏⲉⲧⲉ ⲙⲙⲟⲛ ⲙⲁⲱϫ ⲙⲙⲟϥ

The Coptic proverb Ⲉϥϯ ⲙⲡϩⲁⲗⲁⲕ ⲙⲫⲏⲉⲧⲉ ⲙⲙⲟⲛ ⲙⲁⲱϫ ⲙⲙⲟϥ is popular in Egypt till now.

dissecting the proverb 🔗

Let’s break down the Coptic phrase to understand its meaning.

• Ⲉϥϯ (efϯ): This is the third person singular masculine present tense of the verb “to give”. It means “he gives”.

• ⲙⲡϩⲁⲗⲁⲕ (m-p-halak): This is a noun phrase.

  • ⲙ- (m-): This is the preposition “to” or “for”.
  • ⲡ- (p-): This is the definite article “the”.
  • ϩⲁⲗⲁⲕ (halak): This word is derived from the Greek “χαλκός” (chalkos) and means “copper” or, by extension, “money”, “coin”, or “offering”, or “earring”, So ⲙⲡϩⲁⲗⲁⲕ means “to the copper/money/offering/earring” or “for the copper/money/offering/earring”.

• ⲙⲫⲏⲉⲧⲉ (m-phē-ete): This is a relative pronoun.

  • ⲙ- (m-): This is the preposition “in” or “with” or “among”.
  • ⲫⲏⲉⲧⲉ (phē-ete): This part acts like “who” or “which” in English. It refers back to the implied person who has no (need).

• ⲙⲙⲟⲛ (m-mon): This means “there is no” or “there isn’t”.

• ⲙⲁⲱϫ (ma-ōj): This means “need” or “necessity”.

• ⲙⲙⲟϥ (m-mōf): This is the third person singular masculine possessive pronoun, meaning “of him” or “belonging to him”. It refers back to the person mentioned in the relative clause.

Putting it all together, the phrase translates to something like:

“He gives the earring to the one who has no need of it.”

or

“He gives earring to the one who has no need of his.”

Meaning of the proverb 🔗

The sense is that the person receiving the gift doesn’t actually need it. It suggests generosity or perhaps even a situation where the giver’s act of giving is more important than the recipient’s need.

This proverb is common in Egyptian Arabic as “يدي الحلق للي بلا ودان”, meaning “He gives the earring to the one who does not have an ear”.

People, usually, recite this proverb to express their saddness and anger towards the act of giving. That saying often point to the God who give the one who is not in need.