Ogede dudu ko yabushan, Omo buruku o yalupa - A banana doesnt deserve to be broken because its unripe, you do not kill your child because he is bad.

The one who buys the first car buys the second-hand car.

The one who builds the first house on the street doesnt necessarily build the best one.

The fish does not know how hot the water in the pot is until it falls inside the pot.

When you see a woman dancing by the forest, she must be dancing to the drums of the spirit.



Pidgin English:- No be every okada wen pass u go enter.

IS WOMAN THAT KNOWS THE REAL FATHER OF HER CHILD
WE SHOULD'T CALL THE HEAD A TAIL
WE DONT WALK WITH WHAT WE CALL A HEAD

ESAN PROVERB
what a Farmer says when going to the farm is different from what he says when coming back

e.g
( on his way to the farm he tells his  Colleagues "i will finish every work in the farm today" but when coming back, he says " i thought i will be able to finish the work  the sun/rain was too much  today)

meaning
you can not tell exactly what the future may be.

Great Thread you guyz have here, absolutely fun!
Wish I have one to share but I think it's all good!
It's made ma day here in the office and a platform for interaction among me and ma Colleagues over here.
Great idea ANGEL and alll the contributors!

these are some really great proverbs , thanks everyone for sharing i never heard a lot of them,

1. You cannot stop a child from growing big teeth; however he should have lips
    equally big enough to cover them.

2. Proverbs are the palmoil with which words are eaten (from "Things Fall Apart).

3. [When you are at the stream] the water you are going to scoop in your hand to
    drink will not pass you by.

4. I called you to wash your hands and eat and you ended up taking a bath.

MONKEY NO FINE, IM MAMA LIKE AM.
THE WIND HAS BLOWN AND WE HAVE SEEN THE YANSH OF THE FOWL
DOG WEY GO LOST NO GO HEAR THE WHISTLE OF THE HUNTER

A mad fowl has not seen an intosticated wolf.

If a PREIST makes himself as a cooked rice, members of the MaryLeagues will share him.[color=#990000][/color]

A HUNTER DOES NOT STAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND DETERMINE WHICH ANIMAL FALLS INTO ITS TRAP

Pikin wey say hin mama nor go sleep , hin sef nor go sleep

Dem nor need to tell blind man say rain dey fall

Na with serious cooperation na im rice take dey full pot

Life na market, just buy and sell den go back home

Lion nor fit born goat

Who dey cry still dey see road

Na tree wey near each other na hin make monkey dey smart

Dem no say make person nor get big teeth but make hin get lips to cover am

e sweet,e sweet, na hin yam take choke goat

Dem dey count meat wey dey inside pot, kpomo sef raise hin hand say hin dey,

Wowo nor be old age

Who chop belleful still go hungry

A fat arsed dosnt knw wat ha god did 2 ha till diaz a rampage in d mkt, hegoat dt doesnt knw im self de sexualy haras im mama, diaz no need 2 tel a woman who gave birth in d mkt 2 close her leg 4 diaz nutin 2 hide, itz only a child who dosnt knw d potency of a habal charm dt kolz it a mere vegetable my pple wile d pot boils frenship blosms em, B watchin d pot i'm kumin

at all, at all Na WINCH!!

Omode o mo ogun, o n pe ni efo - A child being ignorant of medicinal herbs, trivializes them as vegetables.

Kekere ni at n pe eka Iroko; to ba dagba tan, apa o ni ka - From a sapling, one begins the pruning of an Iroko tree; when fully grown, it will be out of reach.

Adaba ko nooni a sun igbe; ina n jo, eioye n lo - The dove is unconcerned at the bush burning; As the fire burns, the bird simply flies away.

"Hot soup should be sipped slowly" is a proverb I like.

Especially the more lyrical version in English: "Slowly, slowly, the hot soup is licked"

Could someone tranlate this Proverb into Igbo, please?

Nwayo, nwayo ka e ji aracha ofe di oku

lazy hands makes a man poor
Do not look at a vistier 's face but at his stomach
He who listend to the woman suffered famine at harvest time
If you are ugly,learn how to dance
Things that are stolen will really never make you rich
You learn a lot about a man by his behavior when hungry
The king lives way up where the stench of the poor cannot reach him
lies have short legs
A strong bull is seen by its scars
You can trust your brother,your father,your mother but never your wife
Treat the days well and they will treat you well

Heaven is about to plunge is not one man palaver: Orun ma wo ki se oro enikan.

'The roof did not be careful, the roof fall', by Ajirebi
Aja o fura, aja ja

Rain does not fall on one roof alone.

These are African American but remind me of some I've read here: 1. It's a mighty bad wind that don't never change. 2. It's mama's baby but daddy's maybe. 3. It's a po' (poor) frog that don't praise his own pond. 4. You don't believe fat meat is greasy (mostly told to kinds meaning u r so disobedient that u don't heed my warnings. u don't even believe obvious things like the fact that fat meat is greasy) 5. A hard head makes a soft behind. 6. an empty wagon makes a lot of noise. 7. Every tub must stand on its own bottom.

Omo lomo o ni pa iya oni iya -------------------- Another person's child will not kill another person's mother (This saying was very common when I was younger)

The dance of a millipede does not impress he who has seen the dance of a snake.

All lizards lie prostrate, how can you tell which is suffering from bellyache?

Mkpo ama nam fi ika iba ku sung, anam ita tongo don bong akam ke ntak (Efik) --- If something happens to you twice, should it happen a third time, kneel down and pray to ask God why.

When God writes a letter, no postmaster can delay it

The more a man lasts, the more he suffers

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step

Block by block a house is built

Im loving this,

"You cannot paddle a canoe on dry land"

OWo agbe po kiin run - A shit carrier's money does not smell.

1} PROVERB-A kii leku meji ka ma pofo, Eni ba leku meji a pofo.
TRANSLATION-One does not chase two rats and avoid coming up with nothing.
MEANING-Never try to go in two directions at once.
2} PROVERB-A kii pe ki osika se e osika wo o
TRANSLATION-One does not dare a wicked person to do his worst.
MEANING-Never tempt evil people to do their evil.
3} PROVERBS-A kii ri adie nile ka da agbado fun aja.
TRANSLATION-One does not see chickens about and throw one's corn to the dog.
MEANING-Always direct help where it will be appreciated and where it will do some good.
4} PROVERB-A kii ri ekun ka to ekun
TRANSLATION-One does not see the look on a leopards face and then taunt the leopard.
MEANING-It is foolish to needlessly invite disaster on one's own head.
The few examples I gave are typical examples of the African proverb.Proverb are a type of folklore. They are wise or apt sayings meant to deliver strong messages. Proverbs are either used to advice,correct,discipline or warn. The African culture is a very rich culture. The proverb in one culture can also be found in another culture.This shows that we are still united in a way and that we still believe in the same moral principles.It is important that we learn to appreciate our culture and learn to speak our language and most importantly learn to make use of our proverbs.
ADEBOWALE TOLULOPE,
MASS COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT,
CALEB UNIVERSITY,
IMOTA LAGOS.

My signature!

Wéré, wéré nikán njelé.

Slowly, slowly the termite eats the house.
Don't let small problems grow.

Latoya:
u can only stop a bird from making a nest on your head but u can't stop it from flying over your head - Hausa

what an elder sees when sitting down,a child cannot see even on the highest mountain - grandpa

wise people use their tounges to count their teeth - Hausa

a child that washes his hands well will learn to eat and dine with elders - Hausa

These are not Hausa proverbs, they are largely Igbo.