Aleruana/Envato Elements
Sak vid pa kanpe
Meaning
The lesson behind this saying is that you need to eat to have energy.
Just as an empty sack cannot stand straight, your body cannot remain standing without enough food.
Translation: An empy sack cannot stand.
Literal Meaning: Sack empty doesn't stand.
Example 1
Ou pap gen fòs pou w travay si w pa manje. Sak vid pa kanpe!
You will not have strength to work if you don't eat. An empty sack cannot stand!
Example 2
Sak vid pa kanpe! M twò grangou pou m al fè egzèsis.
An empty sack cannot stand! I am not too hungry to do do exercise.
Fun Facts
Before plastic bags became common, people in Haiti mostly used sacks, which are made out of clothlike materials.
Those bags are heavier than plastic bags and are even more likely to collapse to the ground when they are empty compared to plastic bags
Since Haitians in former times used sacks extensively to store harvested grains, fruits and household items, they were quite familiar with what happened when a sack was empty.
Therefore, it is not surprising sak vid pa kanpe developed over time.