European proverbs about red hair

In this old post we have seen Italian proverbs about red hair. Now, we will see proverbs from other countries. As you will see, French and Spanish proverbs are quite similar to Italian ones. German proverbs are different, but I could only find few of them.

 

Spanish

- Mujer de pelo bermejo, mala carne y peor pellejo (Woman with red hair, bad meat and worse skin)

- Dios nos libre de un cojo, de un rojo y de uno que le falta un ojo  (God save us from a lame man, from a red-haired man and from one who is missing an eye) 

- Pelirrojo, peor que un cojo (Redhead, worse than a cripple)

- Hombre rojo y el demuño, todo es uno  (Red-haired man and the devil are all one, which is similar to the proverb quoted in a previous post)

- Rubicondo era Judas el traidor: ni mujer, ni hombre, ni perro ni gato de aquella color  (Red was Judas the traitor: neither woman nor man, nor dog nor cat of that color)

- Home roig i gos pelut, primer mort que conegut (This is from Valencia. In current Spanish it is Hombre pelirrojo y perro peludo, primero muerto que conocido   Red-haired man and hairy dog, sooner dead than known)

- Español rojo y alemán moreno, ninguno es bueno   (Red-haired Spanish and brown-haired German, neither is good)

- Hombre rojo, ten con él mucho ojo   (Red-haired man, keep an eye on him)

- Rojo esparteño, mal pelo (Of this one I couldn't understand the meaning of esparteño)

 
- El pelo rojo cría piojos (Red hair breeds lice)

- Pelirrojo  de mal pelo, cabeza de cordero (Bad-haired redhead, lamb's head)

Sources 1 - 2 - 3

 

French

- Roux, tout bons ou tout méchants  (Redhead, all good or all bad)

- Avoir un poil de Judas  (To have Judas’ hair)

- Des cheveux roux, de la femme à barbe et du chien à queue coupée court, sauve qui peut  (From red hair, from the bearded woman and from the dog with the short bobtail, save who can)

- Dieu te garde de l'enfer et de la fille d'un homme roux  (God save you from hell and from a redheaded man's daughter)

- Homme roux est très sage ou très fou  (A red-haired man is very wise or very crazy)

- Homme roux et chien lainu [laineux] ou pelu [poilu], plus tost [plutôt] mort que cogneu [connu]  (Red-haired man and woolly or furry dog, sooner dead than known)

- Homme roux et chien poilu, mieux vaut mort que connu  (Red-haired man and hairy dog, better dead than known)

- Homme roux et chien velu n'ont jamais été plaints  (Red-haired man and furry dog have never been complained about)

- Homme roux et femme barbue jamais de près ne les salue  (Red-haired man and bearded woman, never greet them closely)

- Homme roux et femme barbue, de quatre lieux les salue, avec trois pierres au poing, pour t'en ayder s'il vient point  (Red-haired man and bearded woman, from four places greet them, with three stones in hand, to help you if he does not come... This is note very clear)

- Homme roux, femme barbue de bien bon coeur, personne ne salut (Red-haired man, bearded woman with a very good heart, no one greet them)

- Loucher, nez pointu et cheveux roux sont mauvais signes partout  (Squinting, pointy nose and red hair are bad signs everywhere)

- Peu de barbe et roux de couleur, soulz [sous] le ciel il n'y a pejeur  (Little beard and red in color, under the sky there's nothing worse)

- Roux françois, noir anglois et normant de toute taille ne t'y fie si tu es sage  (Red-haired French, black-haired English and Norman of all sizes, don't trust them if you're wise)

- Si les grands étaient vaillants, les petits étaient patients, les roux loyaux et bons, tout le monde serait pareil   (If the big ones were valiant, the little ones were patient, the redheads loyal and good, everyone would be the same)

- Soubs cheveul roux, souvent git un poulx (This is an old spelling and I don't understand it. Maybe it means: Under red hair often there is a pulse [a quick temper])

- Roux au mauvais poil, tête de mouton  (Bad-haired redhead, sheep's head)

- Barbe rouge et noirs cheveux, Guettes t'en, si tu peux (Red beard and black hair, Watch out, if you can)

Sources: 1 - 2

German

- Rote Haare reiß ich aus, mach mir einen Besen draus   (I pull out red hair, make a broom out of it)

- Rote Haare, Sommersprossen- sind des Teufels Artgenossen  (Red hair, freckles - are the devil's kind)

- Rote Haare, krauser Sinn, da steckt der Teufel drin  (Red hair, frizzy sense, there's the devil in it. Not very clear)

- Rotes Haar, nimm dich in acht, hat noch jedem Leid gebracht  (Red hair, beware, has brought suffering to everyone)

-  Schwarzer Kopf, rother Bart, bose Art (Black head, red beard, evil manner)

- Roter Bart, untreue Art (Red beard, unfaithful kind)

- Huet dich vor aim roten Walhen, weissen Franzosen, schwarzen Teutschen (Beware of the red Gauls, white Frenchmen, black Germans)

Sources: 1 - 2 - 3

 

Judeo-Spanish, aka Ladino (not to be confused with the Dolomitic Ladino) 

- Rozho de mal pelo, cavesa de codredo  (Bad-haired redhead, lamb's head) 

So, we have learnt that for the Spanish redheads have a lamb's head, while for the French they have a sheep's head. 😂

(PS: if you know proverbs about red hair in other languages, please let us know!)