50 insightful proverbs from the indigenous hausa ethnic group native to the present-day northern part of Nigeria.
To do, to finish, is better than don't care, come back to-morrow.
Never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day.
The grass which you disregard will injure your eye.
No man or thing is too insignificant to be altogether disregarded.
Water does not get bitter without a cause.
There is reason for everything.
Quantity makes the cotton draw a stone.
Unity is strength.
I have sown a riga without a neck, let him who cuts a neck for it put it on.
If the cap fits put it on.
Even if the water is spilt, as long as the tulu is not broken, no harm
Don't cry over spilt milk. That can be remedied.
The moon is not seen because of great stature.
It is by no merit of yours that you have done that, Any one can do it.
Two pieces of meat confuse the mind of the fly.
To hesitate between two choices.
Being thin is not dying.
Appearances are deceptive.
He is a pair of trousers that fit every one's thighs.
He is so powerful that everyone fears him.
Better to eat something not tasty which is enough, than to eat something tasty which upsets me.
Enough is as good as a feast
He who asks does not go wrong, but his secret is dug up.
Before you ask for information be quite sure that it will not give away your objective.
Had the kura (doctor) the means of curing itself of zawo (sickness) it would have done so.
Physician heal thyself.
To make the heart eat is to bring a feeling of hunger.
Wishing for a thing makes one feel the want of it.
The chief is like a dust-heap, everyone comes with his sweepings and deposits them.
The master is the recipient of all complaints and troubles.
The tortoise wishes to fight with his fists, but he has no fingers.
Impotent wrath.
Whatever there is inside a chicken the hawk has been familiar with it for a very long time.
Repetition of an action enhances familiarity.
Don't let him conceive and bring forth trouble.
Don't do something that you will be sorry for afterwards.
To see is not to obtain.
To see a thing does not necessarily mean that you will obtain it.
Compulsion does not lack a house to sleep in.
Necessity knows no law.
If it is a matter of eating and not of selling, then the hen is better than a horse.
Everything has its own peculiar uses.
The owner of the house knows from where the water drips on him.
Everyone knows his own business best.
The calabash follows the calabash, when it follows the wooden basin it gets broken.
Don't meddle with anything which is outside your sphere.
Everyone who sees the raven knows it by its red legs.
Everyone has some peculiarity by which they are known.
Some birds avoid water, the duck searches for it.
Everyone to his own taste.
Running and scratching oneself is not possible.
You can't do two things at once.
Better to have a fool than no fool at all.
Half a loaf is better than no bread.
"Do nothing" does not bring a hare to market.
Nothing can be done without work.
"Move about” is better than “sit still".
An active and willing man is better than an unwilling one.
As the hen says, "It is easy enough to find food, but hard to get away to a place where you can eat it in peace."
Your friends and relations always want a share of your goods.
The very thin defeats the very fat.
The unexpected happens.
"Being used to by the eye" causes contempt.
Familiarity breeds contempt.
Once the blind man's ground-nut is burnt (while he is cooking it) next time he eats it raw.
A burnt child fears the fire.
The son and his father are not to be divided.
Like father like son.
A boy is like a hen's fat, when it feels the sun it melts.
A boy has not a man's endurance, any hardship will overcome him.
Does the moon trouble itself about the punishment of an ant?
Do not trouble yourself about frivolities.
The calabash with which the well has been dug, water is not drunk from it.
To cast aside old friends who have served their turn.
A man who falls into a well will seize even the edge of a sword.
Clutch at straws.
Small showers fill the stream.
Perseverance finishes work.
Allah does not give the expert in chewing any grain.
You can't have everything.
Though the lion is humbled, he won't play with the pig.
Certain characteristics can’t be altered no matter the situation.
A rat who is in sight of its hole will not allow the fire to catch him.
A man who sees safety ahead of him will make a last effort.
If the bottle is shaking it will not be filled.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
I did not kill the hare, it was given me slung.
I am only doing what I have been told to do; I can't help myself.
The bird that calls out for rain, the rain strikes it.
To get more than you asked for.
Beware of a blind man who says, "Let us play at stone throwing," he most likely has a stone under his foot.
Be on your guard against a man who invites you to compete at anything you know he is not generally good at.
Don’t be foolishly angry, like a moth ; the man who gets angry falls into the fire.
The moth flying against a light is supposed to be angry with it.
You have a crest like a crown bird.
You are very proud.
Alkemma bissa duchi, Allah shi kan bashi rua.
Allah will give water to the wheat on a rock.
Allah will look after you if no one else will.
Mai ido daia ba ya gode Allah ba, sai ya ga makafo.
The one-eyed man only thanks Allah for his one eye when he sees a totally blind man.
You never know when you are well off.
