Africa is known for it's deep, deep idioms.
You have the wise, the funny, the controversial, ridiculous, the serious & instructional.
Share the proverbs/ idioms you know from all across Africa.
Let's all learn together!
To start us off, here\'s one that we used to dance to in Primary school (part of the native dance chant).
Okiri kiri ka a na-agba ukwu ose, anaghi ari ya elu! (Nigerian / Igbo Language)
English translation: You should observe a pepper bush, not climb it!
Meaning - I HAVE NO IDEA! BUT WE CERTAINLY HAD FUN SAYING IT!!!
:)
There\'s a Nigerian one that says, "a child may have more clothes than an adult, but cannot have as many rags (old clothes) as an adult." Meaning: (I think...) A Child may be modern/ know stuff (or think they know stuff!) etc, but cannot have as much \'sense\' (wisdom/ experience) as an adult!
1.Agba kii wa loja ko ri omo tuntun wo-Yoruba
Meaning : an elder cannot be in the market and allow a child to go astray
2.Agba to gbin ebu ika omo e a je mbeyoruba
Meaning: a elder that plant an evil his children will harvest part of it
Yoruba-a ki so fo mode ko ma hu ehin oke , ti o ba ti ete ti o fi boo
Meaning: we dont advise a child not to have stubborn tooth if he can get a big lip to cover it
cho be\'om~om . a bird at hand is worth two in the bush.
eni opka o mine bhi ishito, omokeke asine minoni okima she nugemote-wot an adult sees while seated, a child cannot even upon the highest tree.-ososo,edo state, nigeria
ishibi a neka amigari-(the spoon does not know the cost of cassava flakes) the squanderer does not appreciate the toils of the provider-ososo, edo state,nigeria
bi o sen se isu, obe loye( only the knife understands the feelins of the yam)-yoruba,nigeria.someone pls help wit the meanin!
He who pursues a chicken often falls but the chicken has to run.(Igbo translation)Ochu nwa okuko nwe ada mana nwa okuko nwe nwe nwe oso. - Amaka
You cannot shave a man in his absence (Igbo Language - Anaghi akpu nwoke isi na azu ya) - VITUS LAURENCE
even though the baby monkey appears so ugly it mother loves it anyway - Archibong eyo okon
where the loepard is made judge the goat will never get a fair judgement. - makanze emeka
He who pursues an innocent chicken often stumbles.
He who wrestles with a gorilla will find his back dusty. - Jude Ezedike
No mattter how long and staunch a person\'s neck, on top of it must always sit the head. - Jude Ezedike
Youth is like a stream, if it is not directed to its course it meanders and swallows its tail.- Jude Ezedike
An Owl farted and demanded to be praised by his kinsmen, they mocked him that it is not right to dance to an abomination. (In Igbo Language: Ikwikwi nyuru ahuru si umunna ya kwere ya egwu, ha si ya "tufia" anghi ekwere ihe ojoo egwu) - Jude Ezedike
When two Brothers fight, Strangers always reap the harvest\'
An Ibo saying – Submitted by Fasegun Ola
"Words are easy, friendship is hard." – submitted by Courtney Stern
It is only God that saves a cow that has no tail from flies - Submitted by Wale ogunbiyi
No one can corrupt you unless you are corrupt (ewe proverb from Ghana) - Submitted by Clarence dodzi amedofu.
The old pumpkin in tne courtyard shall not be uprooted (acholi proverb from Uganda) "In acholi: te okono machon pe gi putu." Submitted by Okema Leonard.
"You have to count one before counting two"
"If you hear a mad man talking, wait for a minute you will hear what makes people think he is mad"
"A fool is always right in his own eyes- no wonder he is a fool"
The prosperity of the trees is the well being of the birds.
If your mouth turns into a knife, it will cut off your lips.
An old man who by himself carries one load on the head and another in his hand, must have played away his youth.
One does not use both feet in testing the depth of the river.
No one drinks hot pepper soup in a hurry
There is no need to hurry in the licking of the finger because it will not be put away on the rafter.
The heart of man and the bottom of the sea are unfathomable.
Do not call the forest that shelters you a jungle.
One must first praise the farmer for a job well done before asking him for a yam.
Do not tell the man that is carrying you that he stinks.
All of us cannot sleep and place our heads in the same direction at the same time.
The cock that is drunk is yet to meet the hawk that is irate.
When the cock is drunk he forgets about the hawk.
If one overeats, he will either throw up (vomit) or swell up.
The one who overfears, is the one who meets with hardship.
It takes a whole village to raise a child.
He, who learns, teaches.
When the door is opened, the mouth is opened.
The fool speaks, the wise listens.
After a foolish deed comes remorse.
The King, who surrounds himself with good counselors, has a good reign.
One cannot run away from his behind.
A man, who knows the use of proverbs, reconciles difficulties.
Knowledge is not the main thing, but good deed is.
The child that washes his hand well gets to eat with the elders.
A roaring lion kills no game.
He, who marries a woman only for her beauty, has ignored a major part of what makes a woman.
He, who marries a beauty, marries trouble.
It is Mr. Old-Monkey that marries Mrs. Old Monkey.
It is a hand soiled with oil that brings about the lips soiled with oil.
Yoruba -- " Aki ni komde ma dete , to ba le da inu igbo gbe"
meaning: You dont ask a child to go beyond his boundary, once he\'s prepared to face the music here after"
An old field is easy to cultivate.- Matengu Katukula
Tomorrow is pregnant and no-one knows what she will give birth to. - Andrew Uwaoma
tell me who ya love and i will tell ya who ya are. - ama
A fly with out an adviser, usually follow the corpse to the grave. - Andrew Uwaoma
The liver of a lion is a vain wish for the dog - Chike Cletus
EVEN THOUGH THE BABY MONKEY APPEARS SO UGLY IT MOTHER LOVES IT ANYWHERE. - Archibong Eyo Okon
a king eats every thing only when he is working with a mouth conscious man - ikechukwu anyanwu
HE WHO DECIDES TO PLAY WITH THE DOGS SHOULD NOT KEEP HIS THREAD AND NIDDLE FAR AWAY. - Archibong Eyo Okon
Show me your friend and I will show you your character (in Akan kyereme woadamfo na menkyere wo wosuban.) - Kwaku Boateng
When you throw a stone at God, it lands right on top of your head - nii-adotey acquaye-baddoo
"You don\'t buy a hen to rear from the market." In Chichewa, "Nkhuku yoweta sagula pa msika." - Nyurukuta Namahetche
Kings are born but not made.
The more one talks the more he/she reveals his/her secrets.
Great towns grow with peace but not by killing and intimidation.
when a child is crying and pointing his hand toward one direction, if his father is not there then his mother must be there.
Peace-talk comes after war.
A good liar can never lie with his name, and a good believer can never leave his father\'s and grand father\'s beliefs.
Action speaks louder than the words.
If there are good rules and order in a society then we don\'t need law and punishment.
A man can never have a male child before his father.
God made man, Man made money but money corrupts man.
All religion belief that there is only "One God" but we don\'t know if God is a man or woman.
------------- Submitted by Prince Arusi Obi
When the foolish man realizes wisdom, know that he has exhausted all he has.
The friends of our friends are our friends.
When a woman behaves like a woman, the man should behave like a man.
An intelligent enemy is better than a stupid friend.
Good cooking is a woman\'s surest path to a man\'s heart
A child who washes his hands clean enough gets to eat with the elders
A blind man can be told that there is no oil in the soup, but he will have to use his tongue if he must find out the level of the salt.
"May he who comes to visit me never bring death to me, and when he does depart, may he never grow a hunch-back."
"What an old man can see while seated a young man can not see standing."
"When a head is too big it cannot avoid punches."
"Two trees planted together cannot avoid brushing against
each other."
"The man whose house is on fire does not go hunting for a rat.."
"If a bachelor decides to cook and at the same time goes to climb the palm tree, if he does not fall from the palmtree, his food on the fire (stove) will get burnt."
"The mind is like a bag, everyone carries his/her own."
"Character is like smoke, it cannot be hidden."
"The market is not attended from a single road."
"When a road is good, it is used a second time."
"The child that leaves the fate of his future in the hope of inheritance property, sets himself up for a life of poverty."
"The frog never runs in daylight for nothing."
Awo adighi agba oso ehihe n\'efu-a toad does not run in the day light for nothing.
MEANING:Nothing goes for nothing.
