African Proverbs

Rain beats a leopard's skin, but it does not wash out the spots.
Ashanti of Ghana

One falsehood spoils a thousand truths.
Ashanti of Ghana

Do not call the forest that shelters you a jungle.
Ashanti of Ghana

The moon moves slowly, but it crosses the town.
Ashanti of Ghana

The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people.
Ashanti of Ghana

When the cock is drunk, he forgets about the hawk.
Ashanti of Ghana

There is no medicine to cure hatred.
Ashanti of Ghana

When a king has good counselors, his reign is peaceful.
Ashanti of Ghana

By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed.
Ashanti of Ghana

It is the calm and silent water that drowns a man.
Ashanti of Ghana

Where there is a will, there are sure to be relatives

Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.
Bondei

Love is like a baby: it needs to be treated tenderly.
Congo

You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla.
Congo

The friends of our friends are our friends.
Congo

Death does not sound a trumpet.
Congo

No matter how long the night, the day is sure to come.
Congo

To love someone who does not love you, is like shaking a tree to make the dew drops fall.
Congo

Sleep is the cousin of death.
Congo

A single bracelet does not jingle.
Congo

Pride only goes the length one can spit.
Congo

When your neighbour is wrong you point a finger, but when you are wrong you hide.
Ekonda

To one who does not know, a who garden is a forest.
Ethiopia

Evil enters like a needle and spreads like a oak tree.
Ethiopia

The witness of a rat is another rat.
Ethiopia

He who learns, teaches.
Ethiopia

Unless you call out, who will open the door?
Ethiopia

When the heart overflows, it comes out through the mouth.
Ethiopia

You cannot build a house for last year's summer.
Ethiopia

When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.
Ethiopia

The fool speaks, the wise man listens.
Ethiopia

A cat may go to a monastery, but she still remains a cat.
Ethiopia

A silly daughter teaches her mother how to bear children.
Ethiopia

It is easy to become a monk in one's old age.
Ethiopia

The fool is thirsty in the midst of water.
Ethiopia

One's name remains above the grave.
Ethiopia

As the wound inflames the finger, so thought inflames the mind.
Ethiopia-Oromo

Move your neck according to the music.
Ethiopia-Oromo

One is born, one dies; the land increases.
Ghana

Two waterfalls do not hear each other.
Gikuyu

When you see clouds gathering, prepare to catch rainwater.
Gola

One camel does not make fun of the other camel's hump.
Guinea

A good deed is something one returns.
Guinea

He who does not cultivate his field, will die of hunger.
Guinea

Knowledge is like a garden: if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.
Guinea

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.
Guinea

Death is like a robe everyone has to wear.
Guinea (Mandingo)

Always being in a hurry does not prevent death, neither does going slowly prevent living.
Ibo

When the brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their father's estate.
Ibo

God! I am in your hands! What you say will happen! Nothing baffles you!
Ibo

Words are sweet, but they never take the place of food.
Ibo

The rain does not recognize anyone as a friend; it drenches all equally.
Ibo

The death of an elderly man is like a burning library.
Ivorian

Hope is the pillar of the world.
Kanuri

After a foolish deed comes remorse.
Kenya

Talking with one another is loving one another.
Kenya

Life is a shadow and a mist; it passes quickly by and is no more.
Madagascar

Death is like a robe that everyone has to wear.
Mandingo

A friend is someone you share the path with.
Nilotic

When one is in trouble, one remembers God.
Nigeria

Time destroys all things.
Nigeria

Without retaliation, evils would one day become extinct from the world.
Nigeria

If you have one finger pointing at somebody, you have three pointing towards yourself.
Nigeria

You don't need pain killers for another man's headache.
Nigeria (Igala)

God does not sleep.
Nigerian (Bette)

If your mouth turns into a knife, it will cut off your lips.
Rwanda

It is better to be loved than feared.
Sierra Leone

A big fish is caught with big bait.
Sierra Leone

A cow must graze where she is tied.
Sierra Leone

Do not tell the man who is carrying you that he stinks.
Sierra Leone

He who does not seize opportunity today, will be unable to seize tomorrow's opportunity.
Somali

The wind does not break a tree that bends.
Sukuma

He who tells the truth is never wrong.
Swahili

To be without a friend is to be poor indeed.
Tanzania

A roaring lion kills no game.
Tanzania

The tears running down your face do not blind you.
Togolese

Water that has been begged for does not quench the thirst.
Uganda

It takes a whole village to raise a child
Yoruba

Whenyou will sit when you are old, it shows where you stood in youth.
Yoruba

If you damage the character of another, you damage your own.
Yoruba

Work is the medicine for poverty.
Yoruba

The man who has bread to eat does not appreciate the severity of a famine.
Yoruba

The horse that arrives early gets good drinking water.
Zulu

He who hates, hates himself.
Zulu