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Matti Kuusi’s Proverb Type System
The Matti Kuusi international type system compares proverbs across languages by recurring ideas and relationships. Its online form was developed from Kuusi’s work with Outi Lauhakangas.
This resource is for proverbs. It becomes relevant to the database where a proverb is documented in a narrative or is studied as a separate item.
Scope and reference practice
International · Proverbs. The notes on recording evidence are editorial guidance for future use on this website.
| Reference | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Typology | The online scheme is organised into thirteen broad themes, with main classes and more detailed subgroups. |
| Identifiers | Cite the classification code together with the type number, following the database’s guidance. The code alone is insufficient to identify an individual type. |
| Variants and sources | Compare the wording, language and cited collection of each proverb; a common idea need not have identical wording in different cultures. |
Using this reference
For a later narrative link, record the proverb’s occurrence and context as well as its code and number. Distinguish a proverb actually used by a teller from an analyst’s comparison with a story’s moral.
The links below identify the published reference or its official catalogue. This page provides an introduction; it does not reproduce the full index or assign classifications to narratives.
Each heading has a stable link for citation and future cross-referencing. Narrative associations will follow later analysis.
Sources and further reading
Lauhakangas, Outi. The Matti Kuusi International Type System of Proverbs. FF Communications 275. Helsinki: Academia Scientiarum Fennica, 2001. See also the online database maintained by Outi Lauhakangas.
- Official project: history and bibliography
- Official project: proverb types and citation guidance
- Official project: typology
The explanations are concise editorial summaries. Published identifiers are distinguished from this page’s reference headings and suggested recording practices.
If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help
How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
0009-0006-1672-4451
Please cite the relevant sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including the Folklore Database, Berezkin-Duvakin Catalogue, ATU, Thompson, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed. Please respect copyright and licenses.
Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-Duvakin derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
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