Proverbs

88 African Proverbs and Sayings (WISDOM)

Top 11 Most Famous African Proverbs and Sayings (BEST)

If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try spending the night with a mosquito.Pin
If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try spending the night with a mosquito.
We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.Pin
We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.Pin
When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.
It is better to live as a lion for one day rather than 100 years as a sheep.Pin
It is better to live as a lion for one day rather than 100 years as a sheep.
God has created lands with lakes and rivers for man to live. And the desert so that he can find his soul.Pin
God has created lands with lakes and rivers for man to live. And the desert so that he can find his soul.
The strength of the crocodile is in the water – people can be very strong in their right environment.Pin
The strength of the crocodile is in the water – people can be very strong in their right environment.
A cutting word is worse than a bowstring, a cut may heal, but the cut of the tongue does not.Pin
A cutting word is worse than a bowstring, a cut may heal, but the cut of the tongue does not.
He that beats the drum for the mad man to dance is no better than the mad man himself. Pin
He that beats the drum for the mad man to dance is no better than the mad man himself. 
Examine what is said, not who is speaking.Pin
Examine what is said, not who is speaking.
A bird that flies off the Earth and lands on an anthill is still on the ground.Pin
A bird that flies off the Earth and lands on an anthill is still on the ground.
Knowledge is a garden. If it isn’t cultivated, you can’t harvest it.Pin
Knowledge is a garden. If it isn’t cultivated, you can’t harvest it.

17 African Proverbs About Life (INSPIRATIONAL)

Tomorrow belongs to people who prepare for it today.Pin
Tomorrow belongs to people who prepare for it today.
He who runs after good fortune runs away from peace. Pin
He who runs after good fortune runs away from peace
If you want to know the end, look at the beginning.Pin
If you want to know the end, look at the beginning.
However long the night, the dawn will break.Pin
However long the night, the dawn will break.
Trouble does not discriminate. It comes to everyone at some point.Pin
Trouble does not discriminate. It comes to everyone at some point.
No person is born great. Great people become great when others are sleeping.Pin
No person is born great. Great people become great when others are sleeping.
Not everyone who chased the zebra caught it, but he who caught it, chased it.Pin
Not everyone who chased the zebra caught it, but he who caught it, chased it.
Even the lion protects himself against flies.Pin
Even the lion protects himself against flies.
Once you carry your own water, you’ll remember every drop.Pin
Once you carry your own water, you’ll remember every drop.
To try and fail is not laziness.Pin
To try and fail is not laziness.
Being happy is better than being king.Pin
Being happy is better than being king.
He who refuses to obey cannot command.Pin
He who refuses to obey cannot command.
When a needle falls into a deep well, many people will look into the well, but few will be ready to go down after it.Pin
When a needle falls into a deep well, many people will look into the well, but few will be ready to go down after it.
A person with too much ambition cannot sleep in peace.Pin
A person with too much ambition cannot sleep in peace.
The eye never forgets what the heart has seen.Pin
The eye never forgets what the heart has seen.
Ugliness with a good character is better than beauty.Pin
Ugliness with a good character is better than beauty.
A man who pays respect to the great paves his own way for greatness.Pin
A man who pays respect to the great paves his own way for greatness.

7 African Proverbs on Trees and Monkeys

When you marry a monkey for his wealth, the money goes but the monkey remains.Pin
When you marry a monkey for his wealth, the money goes but the monkey remains.
There are no shortcuts to the top of the palm tree.Pin
There are no shortcuts to the top of the palm tree.
All monkeys cannot hang from the same branch.Pin
All monkeys cannot hang from the same branch.
If you climb up a tree, you must climb down the same tree.Pin
If you climb up a tree, you must climb down the same tree.
The axe forgets but the tree remembers.Pin
The axe forgets but the tree remembers.
If money were to be found up in the trees, most people would be married to monkeys.Pin
If money were to be found up in the trees, most people would be married to monkeys.
A family tie is like a tree, it can bend but it cannot break.Pin
A family tie is like a tree, it can bend but it cannot break.

4 African Proverbs on Peace and Unity

When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets hurt.Pin
When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets hurt.
He who digs a grave for his enemy might as well be digging one for himself.Pin
He who digs a grave for his enemy might as well be digging one for himself.
No medicine exists that can cure hatred.Pin
No medicine exists that can cure hatred.
If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do no harm.Pin
If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do no harm.

10 Inspirational African Proverbs About 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.Pin
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.
If I am in harmony with my family, that’s success.Pin
If I am in harmony with my family, that’s success.
If you educate a man, you educate one person. If you educate a woman, you educate a whole family.Pin
If you educate a man, you educate one person. If you educate a woman, you educate a whole family.
A woman is a flower in a garden; her husband is the fence around it.Pin
A woman is a flower in a garden; her husband is the fence around it.
A home without a woman is like a barn without cattle.Pin
A home without a woman is like a barn without cattle.
A husband with a good wife will never be on the road without supplies.Pin
A husband with a good wife will never be on the road without supplies.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.Pin
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Brothers love each other when they are equally rich.Pin
Brothers love each other when they are equally rich.
When brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their father’s estate.Pin
When brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their father’s estate.
Family must look out for family.Pin
Family must look out for family.

20 Wise African Proverbs that will Make You Think

Don’t think there are no crocodiles just because the water is calm.Pin
Don’t think there are no crocodiles just because the water is calm.
If you heal the leg of a person, do not be surprised if they use it to run away.Pin
If you heal the leg of a person, do not be surprised if they use it to run away.
Seeing is different than being told.Pin
Seeing is different than being told.
Rain may clean the leopards skin but it does not wash out the spots.Pin
Rain may clean the leopards skin but it does not wash out the spots.
If you are filled with pride, then you will have no room for wisdom.Pin
If you are filled with pride, then you will have no room for wisdom.
However far a stream flows, it doesn’t forget its origin.Pin
However far a stream flows, it doesn’t forget its origin.
Give advice, if people don’t listen let adversity teach them.Pin
Give advice, if people don’t listen let adversity teach them.
The earth is a beehive, we all enter by the same door.Pin
The earth is a beehive, we all enter by the same door.
No matter how hot your anger is it cannot cook yams.Pin
No matter how hot your anger is it cannot cook yams.
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand.Pin
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand.
Lack of knowledge is darker than night.Pin
Lack of knowledge is darker than night.
To get lost is to learn the way.Pin
To get lost is to learn the way.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.Pin
If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.
When an old man dies, a library is burned with him.Pin
When an old man dies, a library is burned with him.
In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges, and the foolish build dams.Pin
In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges, and the foolish build dams.
Don’t set sail on someone else’s star. One falsehood spoils a thousand truths.Pin
Don’t set sail on someone else’s star. One falsehood spoils a thousand truths.
Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it.Pin
Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it.
The wise man never takes a step too long for his leg.Pin
The wise man never takes a step too long for his leg.
One day in the life of a wise man is worth a fool’s entire life.Pin
One day in the life of a wise man is worth a fool’s entire life.
If you damage the character of another, you damage your own.Pin
If you damage the character of another, you damage your own.

19 African Proverbs About Love

Truth should be in love and love in truth.Pin
Truth should be in love and love in truth.
It is better to be loved than to be feared.Pin
It is better to be loved than to be feared.
Every kind of love is love, but self-love is supreme among them.Pin
Every kind of love is love, but self-love is supreme among them.
To love someone who doesn’t love you is like shaking a tree to make the dew drops fall.Pin
To love someone who doesn’t love you is like shaking a tree to make the dew drops fall.
He who loves, loves you with your dirt.Pin
He who loves, loves you with your dirt.
One who marries for love alone will have bad days but good nights.Pin
One who marries for love alone will have bad days but good nights.
When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow.Pin
When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow.
Don’t be so in love that you can’t tell when it’s raining.Pin
Don’t be so in love that you can’t tell when it’s raining.
If love is a sickness, patience is the remedy.Pin
If love is a sickness, patience is the remedy.
Love, like rain, does not choose the grass on which it falls.Pin
Love, like rain, does not choose the grass on which it falls.
Love for something makes a man blind and deaf.Pin
Love for something makes a man blind and deaf.
The quarrel of lovers is the renewal of love.Pin
The quarrel of lovers is the renewal of love.
A happy man marries the girl he loves; a happier man loves the girl he married.Pin
A happy man marries the girl he loves; a happier man loves the girl he married.
One who loves the vase, loves also what is inside.Pin
One who loves the vase, loves also what is inside.
Let your love be like the misty rain, coming softly but flooding the river.Pin
Let your love be like the misty rain, coming softly but flooding the river.
If a woman doesn’t love you, she calls you 'brother.'Pin
If a woman doesn’t love you, she calls you ‘brother.’
Don’t try to make someone hate the person he loves. For he will go on loving but he will hate you.Pin
Don’t try to make someone hate the person he loves. For he will go on loving but he will hate you.
A fish and bird may fall in love but the two cannot build a home together.Pin
A fish and bird may fall in love but the two cannot build a home together.
It’s better to fall from a tree and break your back than to fall in love and break your heart.Pin
It’s better to fall from a tree and break your back than to fall in love and break your heart.
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(MUST READ) The Book of African Proverbs

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African Proverbs and Sayings (WISDOM) - Gracious QuotesPin
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