African Proverbs
African proverbs collected by country and tribe, with meanings where they have been written. 435 in the archive.
- I pointed out to you the stars and the moon but all you saw was the tip of my finger.Tanzania
- If a dead tree falls, it carries with it a live one.Kenya
- If a monkey is amongst dogs, why won't it start barking?.Nigeria
- If a woman doesn't love you, she calls you brother.Côte d'Ivoire
- If all seeds that fall were to grow, then no one could follow the path under the trees.Ghana
- If a blind man says lets throw stones, be assured that he has stepped on one.Nigeria
- If the cockroach wants to rule over the chicken, then it must hire the fox as a bodyguard.Sierra Leone
- If crocodiles eat their own eggs what would they do to the flesh of a frog.Nigeria
- If everyone is going to dance, then who will watch?.Cameroon
- If the fight is tomorrow, then why should you clench your fist today?.Cameroon
- If gold should rust, what more of iron.
- If love is a sickness, patience is the remedy.Cameroon
- If money grew on trees, many people would be married to monkeys.
- If the ox knew his strength, he will never let anyone lasso him.
- If relatives help each other, what evil can hurt them?.
- If the sun says it is more powerful than the moon, then let it come and shine at night.Malawi
- If the full moon loves you, why worry about the stars?.Tunisia
- If there is cause to hate someone, the cause to love has just begun.
- If two wise men agree on everything, then there is no need for one of them.Zambia
- If you are building a house and a nail breaks, do you stop building or do you change the nail?Rwanda
- If you are in hiding, don't light a fire.Ghana
- If you burn a house, can you conceal the smoke?.Uganda
- If you can walk, you can dance; If you can talk, you can sing.Sudan
- If you carry the egg basket do not dance.