这句话可以追溯到，意大利还是法国和西班牙争夺霸权的战场的时代。可以粗略翻译为：“只要有饭吃，法国还是西班牙都可以”，意思就是“只要能确保我们有口饭吃，任你是谁我们都支持”
Tsunderecoon
Ned gschimpft is globt gnuag.
Not being reprimanded is praise enough. Austrians love to complain and criticize so don't expect to get actual praise. If we say nothing, you did a bang up job. I think there is a related quote in Germany "Da kann man nicht meckern" - You can't complain. Believe me, we tried.
（奥）Ned gschimpft is globt gnuag.，即“不被训斥就是天大的表扬了”。奥地利人喜欢抱怨和批判，所以不要指望得到真正的表扬。如果我们什么都没说，那你就已经做得非常好了。我记得在德国有个相关的说法，"Da kann man nicht meckern"，即“你不能抱怨”。相信我，我们真的尽力了。
I think that saying is mostly Southern in general. Franconians, Austro-Bavarians, Swabians, Badenser.. the whole South Germany gang.
（回，德）我记得这个说法主要流行于南方。弗兰肯人、奥地利人-巴伐利亚人、施瓦本人、巴登塞人…也就是整个南德帮。
I want to nominate "Schauma moi dann sehma scho." – Let's wait and see, then we'll see. Also "Vom Hudeln kemman die Kinder." – Rushing only gets you pregnant.
So calm the fuck down and wait a bit!
（回，奥）我想提名的是“Schauma moi dann sehma scho.”，即“等着瞧吧，自有结果。”
还有"Vom Hudeln kemman die Kinder."，即“猴急只会让你怀孕。”
所以，给我TMD冷静，然后等等看！
The other one I immediately though of was
„Hüfts nix, schods nix“ - if it does not help, it can also not hurt.
For me that somehow sums up our Austrian politics approach(tm) of always striking a compromise that leaves everybody unhappy :)
（回，奥）我立刻就想到了另一句话：
"Hüfts nix, schods nix"，即“如果这么做没有帮助，那也不会有什么伤害”。
在我看来，这话在某种程度上概括了我们奥地利人搞政治的路数，即总是会达成一个让所有人都不满的妥协。
lipitloty
"Sírva vigad a magyar" - Hungarians cry even when having fun. It sums up our pessimistic and bitchy nature, and brings to mind a kind of provincial mentality concerned about what others think of you when you still try to throw money around even if you have none.
（匈）"Sírva vigad a magyar"，即“匈牙利人连快乐的时候都会哭。”这句话概括了我们悲观和犯贱的天性，会让人想到一种外省人的心态，会在意别人对你的看法，就算没有钱，也还是要到处砸钱。
If it wouldn't be for language I often think we are still the same people...
（回，奥）无非是语言不同，我经常觉得我们仍是同一个民族呢…
41942319
Doe maar normaal dan doe je al gek genoeg.
Just behave normally because that's crazy enough already. As a nation we seem to most of the time be allergic to people who act outside of the norm. So "doe normaal" is a very commonly used phrase in the Netherlands.
（荷）Doe maar normaal dan doe je al gek genoeg. 即“正常行事就行了，因为这已经足够疯狂了。”
我们这个国家似乎在大多数时候，都会对那些行为不合乎规范的人过敏。所以“正常行事”在荷兰是一个很常用的短语。
My second favourite is:
Live and let others live
（回，荷）我第二喜欢的是leven en laten leven.，即“待人宽容如待己”
Op Kölsch vertellt man:
“Jede Jeck es anders, jeder es anders jeck, und jet jeck sin mir all.”
Meaning:”every lunatic is different, everyone is different lunatic, and yet lunatic are we all.”
（回，下莱茵）科隆语（译注：科隆一带的方言）的说法是：
“每个疯子都是不同的，每个人都是不同的疯子，而我们都是疯子。”
Although economic inequality is definitely a problem in the Netherlands, where-as in a lot of other countries people derive status from academic titles or fancy cars etc. there's this cult of normalcy that makes it so that the King talks with a slight lower class accent from the Hague that he copied off television to blend in at school.
（回，荷）虽然经济不平等在荷兰绝对是一个问题，但在其他很多国家，人们是通过学术头衔或豪车等东西获得社会地位的。荷兰存在这种对正常的崇拜，连国王说话时都略微沾带海牙下层阶级的口音，而这种口音是他从电视上抄来的，以便在学校里能融入。
That's really cool. Not to mention, he was also a pilot and the prime minister rides a bike. It's commendable.
（回）这一点真的很酷。更不用说他还是个飞行员，而且荷兰首相还骑自行车呢。这一点值得称赞。
Ereine
I had to google some sayings so maybe there isn’t a common phrase or I’m just ignorant. The results were very pessimistic classics like: “Kel’ onni on se onnen kätkeköön”, the one who has luck/happiness should hide it;
（芬）我不得不去谷歌上搜，所以可能不会有常见的说法，也许只是我无知。搜到的结果都是非常悲观的经典说法，比如：交了好运或者得到幸福的人应该藏着掖着。
“Parempi pyy pivossa kuin kymmenen oksalla”, it’s better to have one partridge in your hand than to try to shoot the ten sitting on a branch (which would make you lose the one you’re holding for an uncertain outcome);
“Joka kuuseen kurkottaa, se katajaan kapsahtaa”, the one who reaches for a spruce (one of the tallest trees) will fall on a juniper (very spiky);
“Itku pitkästä ilosta”, crying follows long joy/laughter (and it isn’t talking about laughing until you cry). So don’t show happiness or your good luck, don’t try to reach heights and joy is dangerous.
"Parempi pyy pivossa kuin kymmenen oksalla"，即“与其去射杀枝头上的十只松鸡（为了一个无法确定的结果，会让你丢失掌握在手里的既成果实），不如一只松鸡在手。”
"Joka kuuseen kurkottaa, se katajaan kapsahtaa"，即“伸手去够云杉（最高的树之一）的人，会摔落在刺柏（有很多尖刺）上。”
"Itku pitkästä ilosta", 即“在长久的喜悦/欢笑之后，就轮到哭泣了”（说的不是笑到哭出来为止）。所以不要显露你的幸福或好运，不要好高骛远，而欢喜的状态是危险的。
Imo the best phrase to describe Finns is "Ei mua varten tarvitse keittää" which means "don't bother yourself with brewing coffee specifically for me"
（回，芬）在我看来，最能体现芬兰人特质的习语就是“Ei mua varten tarvitse keittää”，意为“无需劳动尊驾特意为我泡咖啡。”
also in greek "καλιο πέντε και στο χέρι, παρά δέκα και καρτέρι" It's better to have 5 [birds] in the hand than to stalk and wait for ten [birds]
（回，希）希腊语中也有，“追踪、守候十鸟，不如五鸟在手”
PeterParkersPickle
For Austria I'd use one from my grandma
"Es is wies is, und wos is, is a schaß"
It is what it is, and what it is, is shit.
A good mix of apathy and complaining
（奥）奥地利的话，我会选择我奶奶的那句：
“它是什么就是什么，那它到底是什么呢，是狗屎。”
gogo_yubari-chan
o Franza o Spagna, purchè se magna
it dates back to when Italy was a battling ground for supremacy between France and Spain. It loosely translates to "France or Spain, as long as we eat", and it means "we will support whoever guarantees us something to eat", which I think explains partly why we have such weak allegiance to a central state, since it changed hands relatively frequently in the half millennia since.
（意）这句话可以追溯到，意大利还是法国和西班牙争夺霸权的战场的时代。可以粗略翻译为：“只要有饭吃，法国还是西班牙都可以”，意思就是“只要能确保我们有口饭吃，任你是谁我们都支持”，我觉得这也部分解释了为什么我们对中央政府的忠诚度这么低，因为在那以后的五百年中，中央政府易手是相对频繁的。
zen_arcade
Tengo famiglia (I got family (to feed))
（意）Tengo famiglia。即“我得养家糊口。”
Raphelm
« Pourquoi faire simple quand on peut faire compliqué ? », meaning “Why do [things] simply when you can make them complicated?”.
First thing that came to my mind. I mean, just look at our way to count!
（法）“明明可以复杂化，为什么还要用简单的办法？”
这是我第一个想到的。我的意思是，只要去看看我们的计数方式就明白了。
“How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?”
Probably one of my favourite quotes of all time.
（回，意）“你要如何去统治一个有246种奶酪的国家？”
可能是我最喜欢的金句之一了
（译注：语出戴高乐）
That's where we see that Belgium has been influenced by France. We have decided to apply that philosophy to our politics and what a success! I think that there are 3 people in the world that precisely know how things work in my country.
（回，比利时）在这种地方我们就能看出比利时受到过法国的影响了。我们已经决定把这种哲学应用在我们的政治中，还大获成功了呢！我觉得全世界只有三个人确凿地知道我国的运转方式。
Kamelen2000
I don't know how accurate this is, but the first thing I thought of was the Swedish word "lagom". It means "not too little and not too much", or "just enough"
I think that fits pretty well with our national identity
（瑞典）我也不清楚这句话有多准，但我首先想到的就是瑞典语中的 "lagom"。意为，“不要太少也不要太多”，或 “刚好够用”。
我认为这一点非常符合我们的民族个性。
It is worth noting that culturally we are actually a very extreme country on a world scale.
Which is shown in for example the Inglehart-Welzel cultural map. We have some of the most extreme cultural values in the world, it's just that they are generally seen as good and progressive so they don't come off as extreme.
（回，瑞典）值得注意的是，在全球范围内，我们在文化方面其实是一个非常极端的国家。
比如说，英格哈特-韦尔策文化地图（译注：见文首）就显示了这一点。我们有些文化价值观能跻身全世界最极端之列，只是这些通常会被认为是好的，是进步的，所以它们不会给人留下极端的印象。
I think it's a mistake we make that we believe that everyone in the world thinks in a similar way to how we do and we just sit in the middle of everyone culturally but in reality we are the odd ones out globally in a lot of ways.
It's something that hasn't helped the integration attempts made with people from vastly different cultures and countries.
我认为这是我们犯下的一个错误，即我们相信世界上每个人的思维方式都和我们相似，我们在文化上只是处于中不溜的位置，但事实上我们的很多方面在全球都是异类。
这一点无助于和那些来自截然不同文化和国家的人进行融合的尝试。
Lubinski64
Common Polish saying "jakoś to będzie" which means "things will work out (in the end)". This phrase sums up Polish mindset, which could be described as "anti-hygge", comfort, quiet and peace does not bring Poles happiness, strife and constant struggle is what truly drives this nation, this is its identity.
"jakoś to będzie"是常见的波兰习语，意为“问题终能得到解决”。这个习语凝炼出了波兰人的心态，可以被描述为“反对安逸”，舒适、安宁、和平是无法给波兰人带来幸福的，冲突和持续不断的斗争才是真正能驱动这个国家的，这就是波兰的特性。
Which is a bit difficult to translate grammatically, but something along the lines "a Pole is a wolf to another Pole" or "Poles are wolves to each other".
It is usually used after an end of a story or example, where people behaved selfishly towards each other, or in a hostile way. This is said in a sort of sad vague recognition that less selfish social relationships are possible, but just not amongst Poles.
（回）这在文法上有点不太好翻译，但大致意思是，“一个波兰人对另一个波兰人来说是狼”，或“波兰人像狼一样对待彼此”。
这句通常会在一个故事或一个例子说完后说，在这个故事或例子中，人们非常自私地（或是以一种敌对的方式）对待彼此。说出这句话，是基于一种悲哀且含糊的认知，即不那么自私的社会关系是有可能实现的，只是在波兰人中间是不可能实现的。
This is one of the contradictions in Polish culture, because it is a culture that has extended social networks, and at least in my days a lot of things were done "po znajomości" - "through acquaintanceship".
这也是波兰文化中的矛盾之一，因为这种文化里的人拥有绵延深广的社交网络，至少在我的时代，很多事情都是“通过熟人”做成的。
ImInteligent_
"while we had democracy, others were sleeping in the trees".it is the stereotypical excuse of Greek nationalists .
（希）“我们享有民主的时候，其他人还在树上睡觉呢”，这是希腊民族主义者的典型托词。
My dad has a similar saying, goes something like "when we were building theaters and the Colosseum, the English were running around naked chasing squirrels"
（回，意）我爸有个相似的说法，大概是这么说的，“我们建起剧院和竞技场的时候，英格兰人还光着腚东奔西跑追松鼠呢。”
In Italy sometimes we say: while they were still hanging from the trees we were already faggots. The implication being that being gay is a modern thing.
（回）在意大利，我们有时候会说：他们还挂在树上的时候，我们已经是基佬了。隐含意是：成为基佬是一件很现代的事情。
Manu82134
For Romania I would say "You can't be both with the dick in the ass and the soul in the heaven" or " we only have one life and one asshole ", meaning that sometimes you gotta do dirty or questionable things to achieve your goals. I think it's pretty self explanatory for Romanians, although i wouldn't make it a national motto.
（罗）罗马尼亚的话，我觉得是，“男根入后庭和灵魂入天堂，你只能二选一”，或者“我们只有一次生命和一个屁眼”，意思是，有些时候你必须做一些龌龊或不诚实的事情，才能达成目标。我认为这话对罗马尼亚人来说是不言自明的，虽然我不会把它当成民族格言。
Edit: a more "polite" one would be "if it doesn't pour, it falls" meaning that you can always achieve something one way or another.
补充：更“礼貌”的说法是，“不是流下来，就是掉下来”，意思是，你总能以这样或那样的方法达成某事。
The first one in Romanian is "și cu pula în cur și cu sufletul în rai nu se poate", maybe you can translate it better
（回，罗）罗马尼亚语中第一句是"și cu pula în cur și cu sufletul în rai nu se poate"（“你的腚里杵着男根，那你的灵魂就别想进天堂了”），也许你可以翻译得更准确些。
Oh man, I disagree, I think "las-o bă că merge așa" (just leave it, that's good enough) could very well be our national motto.
There's a reason the eponymous song was so popular.
For non-Romanians, it's a sort of self aware saying based on our mentality of half-assing everything.
（回，罗）我可不同意，我认为“差不多得了，已经够好了”完全可以作为我们的民族格言。
那首同名歌曲在我们国家很火不是没有原因的。
对于非罗马尼亚人来说，这是一句带着点自我觉察意味的格言，都是基于我们在一切事务上得过且过的心态。
Lol. Yes. Came here to write exactly this. We are the supreme champions of "winging it".
（回，罗）呵呵是的，我进来就是为了写这句的。我们可是“即兴发挥”的冠军。
gerginborisov
Цар далеко, Бог - високо Tsar daleko, Bog - visoko
It means “the Tsar is far away, God - high above”, explaining the centuries old detachment Bulgarians have had with the authority that rules over them and that still shapes our nation’s inability to manage to form stable state institutions.
（保加利亚）“沙皇远在天边，而上帝在九霄云外”，这也解释了几个世纪以来保加利亚人对统治他们的当局之漠然，这也导致我们国家无法形成稳定的国家机构。
Tankart364
In Estonia there is this saying “Inimene õpib kogu oma elu, aga sureb ikka lollina” meaning “An human learns their whole life, but still dies dumb”. (This basically means that you can never learn enough, and even after you finish school you still should learn more, and be better/smarter.) I think this reflects quite well the modern Estonia, where we put a lot into education, both for young and old, so it stays some of the best in the world. (Estonia ranks 3rd in PISA test in the world and 1st in Europe, and even though our universities are not that known, they are still very good ) And basically the Estonian peoples modern indentiy revolves around education, and that sentence represents it quite well.
在爱沙尼亚有这样的说法："Inimene õpib kogu oma elu, aga sureb ikka lollina"，意思是“人学习了一辈子，死的时候却还是个笨蛋”。(大意就是，人是学无止境的，就算你上完了学，还是应该学习更多的东西，并且变成更好/更聪明的人）。我认为这句很好地反映了现代爱沙尼亚的国情，我们在教育方面投入了很多，无论是针对年轻人还是老年人，所以爱沙尼亚一直都能跻身全世界教育水平最高的行列（爱沙尼亚在PISA（即国际学生评估项目）测试中排名世界第三，欧洲第一，尽管我们的大学没有那么出名，但还是相当不错的）。爱沙尼亚人的现代身份认同，基本上都是围绕着教育的，而这句话充分体现了这一点。
SerChonk
I'd propose "Podia ser pior!" - could be worse!
I think despite our penchant for complaining, we're still a pretty upbeat kind of people. As long as there's good food, good wine, people you love, sunshine, and just enough money to get by, life's alright. Could be worse!
（葡）我提议这句，"Podia ser pior!"，即“还可以更糟！”
我觉得尽管我们特别喜欢抱怨，但我们仍然是一群相当乐观的人。只要有美食、好酒、爱的人、阳光，以及刚好够你过活的钱，生活就会很好，但也还可以更糟！
kvotebloodless
Mir wëlle bleiwen waat mir sin.
Meaning we want to stay how we are. It got so popular because we were ran over so many times by other big nations. We were spanish, austrian, german, again german and so on.
（卢森堡）这句的意思是，“我们只想保持现状”。它变得如此受欢迎，因为我们被其他大国碾压过很多次。我们曾经做了西班牙人，做了奥地利人，做了德国人，第二次做了德国人，等等。
nbrosnahan
This isn’t our saying, but I feel like 46-48% of Americans might agree with Churchill here:
“Americans Will Always Do the Right Thing — After Exhausting All the Alternatives.”
（美）这不是我们国家的格言，但我感觉46%-48%的美国人可能会同意丘吉尔的这句话，“美国人总会做正确的事，在用尽所有替代选项之后。”
FakeNathanDrake
“Wha’s lik us? Gey few, an they’re aa deid”
Based on our ability to go on about how (supposedly) great we are, essentially saying the only people comparable to us are dead now.
Some of us have awful high opinions of ourselves…
（苏格兰）“有谁像我们？很少，而且他们都死了。”
鉴于我们这种叨叨自己有多伟大的能力，本质上是在说，仅有的能和我们媲美的人都已经死了。
有一部分苏格兰人自视甚高…
I don't know that it's about being better necessarily, just distinct.
The sort of thing that comes from having a neighbour look down on your culture a lot.
（回，苏）我不认为这是在说我们就一定更好，只是在说我们很独特。
当你的某位邻居极度鄙视你的文化，就会出现这种现象了。
MrOxxxxx
Hope my fellow Austrians won't get mad at me, but I'm gonna say it anyways:
Austrians are like punch cakes (Punschkrapfen): They might be red on the outside like social democrats, but on the inside they are brown like Nazis and always soaked in alcohol.
希望我的奥地利同胞不要生我的气，但我无论如何都要说：
奥地利人就像是Punschkrapfen，可能像社会民主党人一样是红皮的，但却像纳粹一样是棕心的，而且总是吸饱了酒精。
（译注：图为Punschkrapfen，是奥地利经典的朗姆酒风味糕点）
tecberth
Si quieres peces tienes que mojarte el culo - if you want fish you have to wet your ass.
Mostly everyone knows that fishes will not come by themselves to the kitchen.
（西）“如果你想吃鱼，就必须弄湿你的屁股”，大部分人都明白，鱼是不会自己跳进厨房的。
BakingCaking
For Denmark i would say it is: Hvad ud af tabes skal indad vindes. What is outward lidt shall be inward gained. It became "popular" in Denmark after having lost most wars for a few hundred years and lost a lot of land. The saying may not be danish, internet says many things, but it certainly had an impact on Denmark, especially after the loss of Schleswig during the second Schleswig war.
（丹）丹麦的话，我觉得是这句：“在外部失去的，必在内部得到”，在丹麦在几百年时间里输掉了大部分的战争且丢失大量领土后，这句话在丹麦“走红”了。这话可能不是丹麦人说的，网上各种解释都有，但这句话肯定对丹麦产生过影响，丹麦在第二次石勒苏益格战争中失去石勒苏益格后尤然。
原文地址：https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEurope/comments/u58pbv/what_common_phrase_really_sums_up_your_national/
欧盟圈分享：各国的哪些习语能如实概括其民族特性？
