Top Famous African Wise Proverbs and Quotes About Life, Rich African Culture~OracleTWEETS ::: World Media Bulletin

African proverbs and wise sayings

Wisdom is wealth! One thing I respect deeply about Africa is the treasure of wisdom our ancestors have handed down to us. While some of our leaders may have forgotten them, the rest of us don’t need to. From prudent sayings on wisdom itself, to judicious encouragements, warnings and even quirky advice on learning, patience, unity, wealth, poverty, community, family, love and marriage, these quotes will inspire you to be the best you can possibly be.

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African Quotes on Wisdom

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

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African Quotes on Learning

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
Wealth, if you use it, comes to an end; 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
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. ~Ashanti 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. ~Ashanti 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

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African proverbs on Peace and Leadership

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. ~Ashanti 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
Do not forget what 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

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African Quotes on Unity and Community

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

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African Quotes on Family

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. ~ African 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
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 (Ghana, Ivory Coast) proverb
When brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their father’s estate. ~ Ibo proverb
Children are the reward of life. ~ African proverb

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African Proverbs on Friendship

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. ~ African 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

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African Proverbs on Money, Wealth, Riches and Poverty

Make some money but don’t let money make you. ~ Tanzania
It is no shame at all to work for money. ~ Africa
He who loves money must labor. ~ Mauritania
By labor comes wealth. ~ Yoruba
Poverty is slavery. ~Somalia
One cannot both feast and become rich. ~ Ashanti
One cannot count on riches. ~ Somalia
Money is sharper than the sword. – Ashanti
A man’s wealth may be superior to him. ~ Cameroon
The rich are always complaining. ~ Zulu
The wealth which enslaves the owner isn’t wealth. ~ Yoruba
The poor man and the rich man do not play together. ~ Ashanti
Lack of money is lack of friends; if you have money at your disposal, every dog and goat will claim to be related to you. ~ Yoruba
With wealth one wins a woman. ~ Uganda
Dogs do not actually prefer bones to meat; it is just that no one ever gives them meat. ~ Akan
A real family eats the same cornmeal. ~ Bayombe
If your cornfield is far from your house, the birds will eat your corn. ~ Congo
Money can’t talk, yet it can make lies look true. ~ South Africa
One cannot count on riches. ~ Somalia
Money is not the medicine against death. ~ Ghana
He who receives a gift does not measure. ~ Africa
Much wealth brings many enemies. – Swahili
There is no one who became rich because he broke a holiday, no one became fat because he broke a fast. ~ Ethiopia
What you give you get, ten times over. ~ Yoruba
Greed loses what it has gained. ~ Africa
You become wise when you begin to run out of money. ~ Ghana
If ten cents does not go out, it does not bring in one thousand dollars. ~ Ghana
You should not hoard your money and die of hunger. – Ghana
Wealth diminishes with usage; learning increases with use. ~ Nigeria
Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Akan
Having a good discussion is like having riches ~ Kenya
Knowledge is better than riches. ~ Cameroon
You must act as if it is impossible to fail. ~ Ashanti
Do not let what you cannot do tear from your hands what you can. ~ Ashanti

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African Proverbs on Beauty

One who plants grapes by the road side, and one who marries a pretty woman, share the same problem. ~Ethiopian Proverb
Beautiful from behind, ugly in front. ~Uganda Proverb
The skin of the leopard is beautiful, but not his heart. ~Baluba proverb
Ugliness with a good character is better than beauty. ~Nigerian Proverb
A beautiful one hurts the heart. ~African Proverb
Anyone who sees beauty and does not look at it will soon be poor. ~Yoruba Proverb
The surface of the water is beautiful, but it is no good to sleep on. ~Ghanaian Proverb
If there is character, ugliness becomes beauty; if there is none, beauty becomes ugliness. ~Nigerian Proverb
You are beautiful, but learn to work, for you cannot eat your beauty. ~Congolese Proverb
The one who loves an unsightly person is the one who makes him beautiful. ~Ganda Proverb
Having beauty doesn’t mean understanding the perseverance of marriage. ~African Proverb
You are beautiful because of your possessions. ~Baguirmi Proverb
Every woman is beautiful until she speaks. ~Zimbabwean Proverb
Three things cause sorrow to flee; water, green trees, and a beautiful face. ~Moroccan Proverb
A beautiful thing is never perfect. ~Egyptian Proverb
Patience is the mother of a beautiful child. ~Bantu Proverb
There is no beauty but the beauty of action. ~Moroccan Proverb
Judge not your beauty by the number of people who look at you, but rather by the number of people who smile at you. ~African Proverb
A pretty face and fine clothes do not make character. ~Congolese Proverb
Youth is beauty, even in cattle. ~Egyptian Proverb
A pretty basket does not prevent worries. ~Congolese Proverb
It’s those ugly caterpillars that turn into beautiful butterflies after seasons. ~African Proverb
The most beautiful fig may contain a worm. ~Zulu Proverb
It is only a stupid cow that rejoices at the prospect of being taken to a beautiful abattoir. ~African Proverb
A woman who pursues a man for sex loses her spiritual beauty. ~African Proverb
A chicken with beautiful plumage does not sit in a corner. ~African Proverb
The cook does not have to be a beautiful woman. ~Shona Proverb
Beautiful words don’t put porridge in the pot. ~Botswana Proverb
She is beautiful; she has love, understands; she respects herself and others; everyone likes, loves and honors her; she is a goddess. ~African Proverb
There is always a winner even in a monkey’s beauty contest. ~African Proverb
Dress up a stick and it’ll be a beautiful bride. ~Egyptian Proverb
An ugly child of your own is more to you than a beautiful one belonging to your neighbor. ~Ganda Proverb
Even the colors of a chameleon are for survival not beauty. ~African Proverb
Beautiful discourse is rarer than emerald ~ yet it can be found among the servant girls at the grindstones. ~Egyptian Proverb
When a once-beautiful piece of cloth has turned into rags, no one remembers that it was woven by Ukwa master weavers. ~Igbo Proverb
A woman’s polite devotion is her greatest beauty. ~African Proverb
There are many colorful flowers on the path of life, but the prettiest have the sharpest thorns. ~African Proverb
He who marries a beauty marries trouble. ~Nigerian Proverb
Despite the beauty of the moon, sun and the stars, the sky also has a threatening thunder and striking lightening. ~African Proverb
Getting only a beautiful woman is like planting a vine on the roadside everyone feeds on it. ~African Proverb
Greatness and beauty do not belong to the gods alone. ~Nigerian Proverb
Roosters’ tail feathers: pretty but always behind. ~Malagasy Proverb
Beauty is not sold and eaten. ~Nigerian Proverb
She is like a road – pretty, but crooked. ~Cameroonian Proverb
Why they like an ugly person takes long for a beautiful person to know. ~African Proverb
If you find “Miss This Year” beautiful, then you’ll find “Miss Next Year” even more so. ~Nigerian Proverb
The beauty of a woman becomes useless if there is no one to admire it. ~African Proverb

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African Love and Marriage Quotes

He who loves the vase loves also what is inside. ~ African proverb
It’s much easier to fall in love than to stay in love. ~ African proverb
Coffee and love taste best when hot. ~ Ethiopian proverb
Where there is love there is no darkness. ~Burundian proverb
If you are ugly you must either learn to dance or make love. ~ Zimbabwean Proverp
Pretend you are dead and you will see who really loves you. ~ African proverb
To love the king is not bad, but a king who loves you is better. ~ Wolof proverb
A happy man marries the girl he loves, but a happier man loves the girl he marries. ~ African proverb
If you marry a monkey for his wealth, the money goes and the monkey remains as is. ~ Egyptian proverb
Love never gets lost it’s only kept. ~ African proverb
Never marry a woman who has bigger feet than you. ~ Mozambique proverb
One thread for the needle, one love for the heart. ~ Sudanese proverb
Love has to be shown by deeds not words. ~ Swahili proverb
Love is a despot who spares no one. ~Namibian proverb
Marriage is like a groundnut; you have to crack it to see what is inside. ~ Ghanaian proverb

Patience is the key which solves all problems. ~ Sudanese proverb
Hurry, hurry has no blessings. ~ Swahili proverb
Patience is the mother of a beautiful child. ~ Bantu proverb
To run is not necessarily to arrive. ~ Swahili proverb
Patience can cook a stone. ~ African proverb
A patient man will eat ripe fruit. ~ African proverb
At the bottom of patience one finds heaven. ~ African proverb
A patient person never misses a thing. ~ Swahili proverb
Patience puts a crown on the head. ~ Ugandan proverb
Patience attracts happiness; it brings near that which is far. ~ Swahili proverb
Always being in a hurry does not prevent death, neither does going slowly prevent living. ~ Ibo proverb
However long the night, the dawn will break. ~ African proverb (personal favourite!)

African Quotes on Food

As porridge benefits those who heat and eat it, so does a child benefit those that rear it. ~Amharic Proverb
The forest not only hides man’s enemies but its full of man’s medicine, healing power and food. ~African Proverb
One person is a thin porridge; two or three people are a lump of ugali. ~Kuria Proverb
The man who counts the bits of food he swallows is never satisfied. ~African Proverb
Wine, women and food give gladness to the heart. ~Ancient Egyptian Proverb
The food that is in the mouth is not yet in the belly. ~Kikuyu Proverb
You cannot work for food when there is no food for work. ~African Proverb
The chicken that digs for food will not sleep hungry. ~Bayombe Proverb
He who eats another mans food will have his own food eaten by others. ~Swahili Proverb
Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with gravel in his mouth. ~African Proverb
No partridge scratches the ground in search of food for another. ~Xhosa Proverb
The grasshopper which is always near its mother eats the best food. ~Ghanaian Proverb
Don’t take another mouthful before you have swallowed what is in your mouth. ~Malagasy Proverb
Rich people sometimes eat bad food. ~Kikuyu Proverb
The impotent man does not eat spicy foods. ~Congolese Proverb
You should know what’s being cooked in the kitchen otherwise you might eat a forbidden food. ~African Proverb
When the leg does not walk, the stomach does not eat. ~Mongo (Congolese) Proverb
A healthy person who begs for food is an insult to a generous farmer. ~Ghanaian Proverb
One spoon of soup in need has more value than a pot of soup when we have an abundance of food. ~Angolan Proverb
Cooked food is not sold for goats. ~Kikuyu Proverb
The mouth is stupid after eating it forgets who gave it the food. ~African Proverb
A dog knows the places he is thrown food. ~Acholi Proverb
One who eats alone cannot discuss the taste of the food with others. ~African Proverb
Words are sweet, but they never take the place of food. ~Ibo Proverb
The man who has bread to eat does not appreciate the severity of a famine. ~Yoruba Proverb
He who doesn’t clean his mouth before breakfast always complains that the food is sour. ~African Proverb
The hyena with a cub does not consume all the available food. ~Akamba Proverb
When the food is cooked there is no need to wait before eating it. ~Kikuyu Proverb
What one won’t eat by itself, one will eat when mixed with other food. ~Bantu & Lamba Proverb
Man is like a pepper, till you have chewed it you do not know how hot it is. ~Haussa Proverb
No one gets a mouthful of food by picking between another person’s teeth. ~Igbo Proverb
It is not the cook’s fault when the cassava turns out to be hard and tasteless. ~Ewe Proverb
A housewife who complains that there is not enough foodstuff in the market should remember that if her husband adds to what is already available, there would be more for everyone. ~Nigerian Proverb
A spider’s cobweb isn’t only its sleeping spring but also its food trap. ~African Proverb
If you watch your pot, your food will not burn. ~Mauritanian, Nigerian, and Niger Proverb
Those who are at one regarding food are at one in life. ~Malawian Proverb
Fine words do not produce food. ~Nigerian Proverb
Even the best cooking pot will not produce food. ~African Proverb
If I could see your face, I would not need food. ~Amharic Proverb
If you find no fish, you have to eat bread. ~Ghanaian Proverb
War is not porridge. ~Gikuyu Proverb
The best of mankind is a farmer; the best food is fruit. ~Ethiopian Proverb
Slowly, slowly, porridge goes into the gourd. ~Kuria People of Kenyan & Tanzania
One shares food not words. ~Somali Proverb
If you are looking for a fly in your food it means that you are full. ~South African Proverb
Nature gave us two cheeks instead of one to make it easier to eat hot food. ~Ghanaian Proverb
A patient that can swallow food makes the nurse doubtful. ~Malagasy Proverb
If you give bad food to your stomach, it drums for you to dance. ~African Proverb
A bad cook also has his/her share of the bad food. ~African Proverb
The forest provides food to the hunter after he is utterly exhausted. ~Zimbabwean Proverb
Things are to be tried, an old lady cooked stones and they produced soup. ~Zimbabwean Proverb
You cannot tell a hungry child that you gave him food yesterday. ~Zimbabwean Proverb
Good music goes with good food. ~African Proverb
Rich people cook their food in a potsherd. ~Kikuyu Proverb
However little food we have, we’ll share it even if it’s only one locust. ~Malagasy Proverb
Water is colourless and tasteless but you can live on it longer than eating food. ~African Proverb
Eat when the food is ready; speak when the time is right. ~Ethiopian Proverb
The food eaten first lasts longest in the stomach. ~Kikuyu Proverb
When your luck deserts you, even cold food burns. ~Zambian Proverb
Happiness is as good as food. ~Maasai Proverb
Good words are food, bad words poison. ~Malagasy Proverb
The goat says: “Where there is blood, there is plenty of food.” ~Ghanaian Proverb
If you see a man in a gown eating with a man in rags, the food belongs to the latter. ~Fulani Proverb
They ate our food, and forgot our names. ~Tunisian Proverb
An abundance of food at your neighbour’s will not satisfy your hunger. ~Bayaka Proverb
Food you will not eat you do not boil. ~African Proverb

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