African Proverbs / Wise Sayings 2017

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

• 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 Prover

  • 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 

    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

    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

                                                                                                    To be Continued