a kutya ugat, a karaván halad

Hungarian

Etymology

Literally, “the dog barks, the caravan proceeds”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɒ ˈkucɒ ˈuɡɒt ɒ ˈkɒrɒvaːn ˈhɒlɒd]

• Audio:

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Proverb

a kutya ugat, a karaván halad

1. the dogs bark, but the caravan goes on

Further reading

• [1] According to this source, this was said in Hungarian first by Ferenc Pulszky and it comes from the Turkish language.
• [2] This website explains the following: İt ürür kervan yürür - An ancient Turkish proverb. Its first known occurrence is in Muhammad Shaybani Khan's "Divan" (a collection of poems, 1608-09). It is an assertion, with some irony, that "You are too insignificant to influence the course of events that surround you," i.e. "You're not such a big deal."