Proverbs visibility
| Ri de ndi mbiḓi ro vhona mavhala.
We will say its a Zebra after seeings its colours |
| Wa ḽi kukuna na ṱhoni u do ḽi laṱa na ṋama
If you eat it shyly you will throw it away with meat |
| Ntsa ya fhufha guvha yo ya
If a deer jumps over the wall its gone. |
| Ṅwana wa mbevha ha hangwi mukwita
A child of a rat never forgets the route |
| Maṅa a mutukuna asi vhumatshelo hawe
Cracked feets of a boy are not his future |
| Muḓivha tshikamba u ḓivha nga tshawe
The one who knows tears knows of their own tears |
| Muḽa khulu u a fhinduwa
He who eats big rises up early |
| Mukapi wa tshisima a si munwi watsho
The one who clears a well doesnt drink |
| Mudengu ha ḓi denguli
A cure can not cure itself |
| Maudu a khovhe ndi vhana vhayo
Blessings of a fish are its baby fishes |
| U anetshelwa ndi u dzimiwa
To be told is to be stinted |
| Musadzi wa muluki u hwala nga tshiteto
The basket-maker’s wife has to carry her things in a worn-out winnow |
| Dza musanda dzi ṱahula tshene
Royal cattle (don’t damage crops, they merely) pull up weeds |
| Dza musanda dzi ṱahula tsheṋe
Royal cattle (don’t damage crops, they merely) pull up weeds |
| Hu ambuwa vhuṅanga; vhukololo a vhu ambuwi
Professional status crosses rivers but royal descent does not |
| Mutsinda ndi khwine, shaka ndi bulayo
A stranger is better than a relative; a kinsman may be the death of one |
| Mukange a fa, vhana vha Mukange vha a fhalala
When Mr Guinea Fowl dies, his chicks scatter |
| Thakha ndi mulambo, a i lengi u fhalala.
Wealth is like a river, it flows quickly |
| Zwivhuya a zwi ḓali, zwa ḓala zwi a fhalala
Good things are not common, and when they do appear they soon vanish again |
| Ḓuvha ḽa maḓumbu dzi lala na mavhoḓa adzo
When there are storms the cows are allowed to have their calves with them for the night |
| Muḓinḓa ha huli
A messenger never grows old |
| Munwe muthihi a u ṱusi mathuthu
One finger cannot take popcorn from the pot |