Inspiring African Proverbs

Inspiring African Proverbs

Do not forget what it is to be a sailor because of being a captain yourself. - Tanzanian proverb

Without a leader, black ants are confused. - Ugandan proverb

He who refuses to obey cannot command. - Kenyan proverb

He who fears the sun will not become chief. -Ugandan proverb

A large chair does not make a king. - Sudanese proverb

Because he lost his reputation, he lost a kingdom. - Ethiopian proverb

Where a woman rules, streams run uphill. - Ethiopian proverb

A leader who does not take advice is not a leader. - Kenyan proverb

If the cockroach wants to rule over the chicken, then it must hire the fox as a body-guard. - Sierra Leone proverb

Unity is strength, division is weakness. - Swahili proverb

Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable. - Bondei proverb

It takes a village to raise a child. - African proverb

Cross the river in a crowd and the crocodile won’t eat you. - African proverb

Many hands make light work. - Haya (Tanzania) proverb

Where there are many, nothing goes wrong. - Swahili proverb

Two ants do not fail to pull one grasshopper. - Tanzanian proverb

A single bracelet does not jingle. - Congolese proverb

A single stick may smoke, but it will not burn. - African proverb

If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. - African proverb

A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place. - Akan Ghanaian Proverb

A united family eats from the same plate. - Baganda proverb

A family tie is like a tree, it can bend but it cannot break. - African proverb

If I am in harmony with my family, that’s success. - Ute proverb

Brothers love each other when they are equally rich. - African proverb

 
Dine with a stranger but save your love for your family. - Ethiopian proverb

Inspiring African Proverbs

Inspiring African Proverbs

What you help a child to love can be more important than what you help him to learn. -African proverb

By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed. -Ghanaian proverb

One who causes others misfortune also teaches them wisdom. - African proverb

You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla. -Congolese proverb

What you learn is what you die with. - African proverb

Instruction in youth is like engraving in stone. -Moroccan Proverb

When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like him. -Ghanaian Proverb

Ears that do not listen to advice, accompany the head when it is chopped off. -African Proverb

Advice is a stranger; if he’s welcome he stays for the night; if not, he leaves the same day. -Malagasy Proverb

Traveling is learning. -Kenyan Proverb

Where there are experts there will be no lack of learners. -Swahili Proverb

Peace is costly but it is worth the expense. -Kenyan proverb

War has no eyes - Swahili saying

When a king has good counselors, his reign is peaceful. -Ghanaian proverb

Peace does not make a good ruler. -Botswana proverb

A fight between grasshoppers is a joy to the crow. - Lesotho proverb

There can be no peace without understanding. -Senegalese proverb

Milk and honey have different colors, but they share the same house peacefully. - African proverb

If you can’t resolve your problems in peace, you can’t solve war. - Somalian proverb

When there is peace in the country, the chief does not carry a shield. -Ugandan proverb

When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled. - Swahili saying

Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far. - West African proverb

He who thinks he is leading and has no one following him is only taking a walk. - Malawian proverb

An army of sheep led by a lion can defeat an army of lions led by a sheep. - Ghanaian proverb

He who is destined for power does not have to fight for it. - Ugandan proverb

Inspiring African Proverbs

Inspiring African Proverbs


There is no fool who is disowned by his family. - African proverb
 
Home affairs are not talked about on the public square. - African proverb
 
If relatives help each other, what evil can hurt them? - African proverb
 
He who earns calamity, eats it with his family. - African proverb
 
Dine with a stranger but save your love for your family. - Ethiopian proverb
 
The old woman looks after the child to grow its teeth and the young one in turn looks after the old woman when she loses her teeth. - Akan Ghanaian proverb
 
When brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their father’s estate. - Ibo of Nigeria proverb
 
Children are the reward of life. - African Proverb
 
To be without a friend is to be poor indeed. - Tanzanian proverb
 
Hold a true friend with both hands. - African proverb
 
The friends of our friends are our friends. - Congolese proverb
 
A friend is someone you share the path with. - African proverb
 
Show me your friend and I will show you your character. - Ghanaian proverb
 
Return to old watering holes for more than water; friends and dreams are there to meet you. - African proverb
 
Between true friends even water drunk together is sweet enough. - African proverb
 
A small house will hold a hundred friends. - African proverb
 
A close friend can become a close enemy.- African proverb
 
Bad friends will prevent you from having good friends. - Gabon proverb
 
Make some money but don’t let money make you. - Tanzania proverb
 
It is no shame at all to work for money. - Africa proverb
 
He who loves money must labor. - Mauritania proverb
 
By labor comes wealth. - Yoruba proverb
 
Poverty is slavery. -Somalia proverb
 
One cannot both feast and become rich. - Ghanaian proverb
 
One cannot count on riches. - Somalia
proverb

Inspiring African Proverbs

Wisdom is wealth. - Swahili

Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it. - Akan proverb

The fool speaks, the wise man listens. -Ethiopian proverb

Wisdom does not come overnight. -Somali proverb

The heart of the wise man lies quiet like limpid water. - Cameroon proverb

Wisdom is like fire. People take it from others. - Hema (DRC) proverb

Only a wise person can solve a difficult problem. - Akan proverb

Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. - Guinean proverb

In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams. -Nigerian proverb

If you are filled with pride, then you will have no room for wisdom. - African proverb

A wise person will always find a way. - Tanzanian proverb

Nobody is born wise. - African proverb

A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. -Kenyan proverb

Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. - Akan proverb

Learning expands great souls. - Namibian proverb

To get lost is to learn the way. - African proverb

By crawling a child learns to stand. - African proverb

If you close your eyes to facts, you will learn through accidents. - African proverb

He who learns, teaches. - Ethiopian proverb

Learning, if you use it, increases. - Swahili proverb

By trying often, the monkey learns to jump from the tree. - Buganda proverb

You always learn a lot more when you lose than when you win. - African proverb

You learn how to cut down trees by cutting them down. - Bateke proverb

The wise create proverbs for fools to learn, not to repeat. - African proverb