African Proverbs
Most popular African proverbs quotes
No one tests the depth of a river with both feet.
A crab does not beget a bird.
A chattering bird builds no nest.
Two birds disputed about a kernel, when a third swooped down and carried it off.
Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.
A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything.
It's not what you call me, but what I answer to.
Everybody has been young before, but not everybody has been old before.
Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet.
There are 40 kinds of lunacy, but only one kind of common sense.
He who is carried on another's back does not appreciate how far off the town is.
When the mouth stumbles, it is worse than the foot.
When elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers.
A man deeds are his life.
Aiming isn't hitting.
Your food is close to your stomach, but you must put it in your mouth first.
When the snake is in the house, one need not discuss the matter of length.
God gives nothing to those who keep their arms crossed.
If you wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes. If you don't wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes.
When hunger gets inside you, nothing else can.
A beggar has no dignity.
No one tests the depth of the river with both his feet.
When two men of equal wisdom play together, discord arises.
The one in front has reached there, the one behind only hears about it.
Rivalry is better than envy.
Evil deeds are like perfume, difficult to hide.
The greatest liar is the one who talks most of himself.
Guile excels strength.
Lies, though many, will be caught by the truth as soon as she rises up.
A multitude of words cloaks a lie.
Truth came to market and could not be sold; we buy lies with ready cash.
One falsehood spoils a thousand truths.
Better a refusal than deception.
Bitter truth is better than sweet falsehood.
In extreme cases marijuana can so destroy a man's character that he mixes freely with persons of another race.
Conceit wouldn't be so terrible if only the right people had it.
For news of the heart, ask the face.
An enemy slaughters, a friend distributes.
A powerful friend becomes a powerful enemy.
An intelligent enemy is better than an ignorant friend.
When the cat dies, the mice rejoice.
If you are ugly, be winsome.
The fool can no more taste the sweetness of wisdom than the man with cold can appreciate the scent of a rose.
Everyone loves a fool, but nobody wants him for a son.
One does not become great by claiming greatness.
He who hates, hates himself.
Hate has no medicine.
Thirst cannot be quenched by proxy.
The opinion of the intelligent is better than the certainty of the ignorant.
The man who is not Jealous in love does not love.
Not to know is bad but not to wish to know is worse.
The thoughtless strong man is the chief among lazy men.
The tyrant is only the slave turned inside out.
Whoever spurns what is short has not trodden on a scorpion.
Poverty makes a free man become a slave.
Borrowing is the first-born of poverty.
Poverty is "Who knows you?" Prosperity is "I am your relative."
Work is the medicine for poverty.
Poverty without debt is real wealth.
Going slowly does not stop one from arriving.
The white man lives in the castle; when he dies he lives in the ground.
A heavy burden does not kill on the day it is carried.
Silence is also speech.
Silence is the door of consent.
Nothing is achieved in a dream.
Sleep, the near relative of death.
He who tells the truth is not we liked.
His wealth is superior to him.
Poverty is "Who knows you?"; Prosperity is "I am your relative."
Those who inherit fortunes are often more troublesome than those who make them.
Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents. It is lent to you by your children.
The gums best understand the teeth's affairs.
Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.
One survives all wounds except those of critics.
Instruction in youth is like engraving in stone.
The stream won't be advised, therefore its course is crooked.
A knot in the tree spoils the ax; famine spoils friendship.
A powerful friend becomes at powerful enemy.
News does not have wings, yet it can cross the seven seas.
Learn politeness from the impolite.
He who does not travel will not know the value of men.
A war without headquarters is an expedition.
Self-defense is not fear.
War ends nothing.
He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.
In the midst of your illness you will promise a goat, but when you have recovered, a chicken will seem sufficient.
The cat always catches the impatient mouse.
The proverb is the horse of conversation.
When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled on.
Don't look where you fall, but where you slipped.
