Swahili Proverbs!
Kiswahili is a very versatile language composed of many languages so you may find it interesting to know that a saying in your language might be here translated in Kiswahili, this includes sayings and proverbs from English too.
| Penye niya, pana njiya | Where there's a will, there's a way |
| Udongo uwahi umaji |
Work with the clay while it is wet (Strike the iron while its hot) |
| Penye kuku wengi usimwage mtama |
Where there are many fowls do not spill
millet i.e. do not utter a secret in front of many people |
| Fimbo iliyo mkononi ndiyo iuwayo nyoka |
Stick that is in the hand is the one that
kills the snake i.e. What is possessed by you is likely to be the only one that may help you. |
| Mchagua jembe si mkulima |
He who chooses (differentiates between)
spades is not a farmer i.e. he fusses about spades is not a farmer |
| Haraka haraka haina baraka |
Things done in haste yield no good (great haste makes waste) |
| Ulimacho huvunacho |
What you reap, you sow (You reap what you sow) |
| Asie sikia la mkuu huvunjika (m)guu |
He who listens not of his elders
/superiors, his leg breaks i.e., listen to your elders/superiors they know better (from experience??) |
| Mkono mmoja haupigi makofi | One hand (alone) cannot clap |
| Mgeni ingia mwenyeji apone |
Come oh guest so that the host may benefit
(from your presence) (usually in Tanzania as in many third world countries, when there is a guest, the host {especially wife} spends a lot of time to prepare best of food and other things {maybe room too} to make the guest feel very welcomed.. in return the rest of the house benefits by getting better food than is usual.. and many more things) |
| Barabara refu haikosi kona |
Long road is not without a corner i.e. nothing is perfect |
| Mwanamke mzuri hakosi kasoro |
A beautiful girl is not without a fault i.e. no one is perfect |
| Simba mwendapole ndie mla nyama |
A lion that walks quietly is the one that
eats meat i.e. when a lion prowls, it is the one that stalks the prey and eats its prey finally Be watchful of people who do things in secrecy, they have something up their sleeves |
| Jembe lisilo na mpini halilimi | A spade without a handle does not plough |
My personal knowledge of Kiswahili proverbs and sayings is very limited so I have gone to the market and bought a small book of Swahili sayings called "Swahili Sayings in English & Arabic" by Moosa. K. Al-Rijeby. Very renowned author of various books of knowledge and information such as "The Dark Continent", "The British and Omani domination in East Africa" and "The Analyst English-Swahili Dictionary"
It is with Mr. Moosa. K. Al-Rijeby's permission on 13th June 1999 - over the telephone conversation that I quote various sayings from his publication
"Swahili
Sayings in English & Arabic"
by Moosa K. Al-Rijeby
Moosa K. Al-Rijeby,
P.O. Box 292, Postal Code 111,
C.P.O. Seeb International Airport,
Sultanate of Oman.
Telephone +968 603824
Please excuse any spelling or grammatical error from my end.