vadymvdrobot/Envato Elements
Chita pa bay
Meaning
When someone is unproductive or gets no results because of doing nothing.
Translation: Sitting down doesn't give anything
Literal Meaning: Sitting doesn't give
Example 1
Ann rekòmanse travay. Nou pap janm fini si nou kontinye ap bay blag. Chita pa bay
Let's start working agin. We will never finsh if we keep joking around. Nothing gets done by doing nothing.
Example 2
Chita pa bay! Fòk mwen jwenn yon travay pou m ka ede fanmi m.
Just sitting doesn't help! I need to find a job to help my family.
Fun Facts
This proverb is likely inspired from manual, agricultural labor that was more common in former times in Haiti.
In such an environment, being inactive or 'sitting down' meant zero productivity.
Overtime, this likely gave rise to the proverb Chita pa bay. Now the meaning transcends beyond meaning working hard with your hands. You can even use it as a way to show the need to actually follow through with plans.