Proverbs My Mother Taught Me

Proverbs	Translation
Ijiji da lie sia o dia liya Awo	After the fly dances around it still falls to the fly
Nwa nuta agbogo wa chupu agadi	Once the new bride is brought in the old wife is thrown out
Oyi a tuba ga ma ugulu a dika da	We can feel the cold even though the harmattan has not set in
E ma ti nwata, eju akwa	You can not beat a child and deprive her of shedding tears
Akpu ni ma o onye su wu hani	The Cassava that doeas not know who pounded it
Oke so lu ugwele ma mili we onnwu	The rat that jumps in to swim with the Lizard has death at its feet
Ji wa kwa li ani mana oluho mba	The yam was nourished and planted on a wide, fertile expanse of land but it is unwholesome
Onye wa mama a dia gba bulu ini	When you are already known, you can not hustle for food on the table
Akwa madu yi ne nye oche	The clothes you wear get you a seat. The way you appear provides you with a seat on the table
Onye los sia ifejioku, o je gweli be ose ani	After a rich new yam festival, you go for go for farm food
Nwayo nwayo ka we jie lasa ofe dio okwu	You take hot soup slowly, slowly
Agwo ya li onye gbu eni, otuga ba li ani	The snake leaves its killer and gripes at the ground that has done nothing to it (transferred agression)
Nwa dia gwa onye chinti na aya na ebu	They don’t tell a deaf man that the war is ranging
Ewu Chu onwe nu ugbo	The goat chased itself from the farm because of bad behavior
Ewu a ta ni ugwu ni isi	The goat has eaten crass on my head (loss of respect, intergrity)
Ututu ka wa na chuba ewu oji	You take in a black goat at night
Ututu ka okuku jie wen di	The hen gets a new husband every morning
Gbue dike ko obodo jio oyi	Kill a strong man so that the city can have peace
Ebe anyi na kwo aka ka ni na ma onye na gbabuluni	It is at the handwashing point that we recognize a food hustler
Onye wa na fu ka wa na nwa nya li ji	It is the one who makes himself available/is around that they give a piece of yam
Wata na gwa nna onye bu nwannei	The child tells the father who is sibiing is
Nkpi ya li uso ka yali osi	He -goat please don’t taste so good so I don’t steal (blame game)
Ogw u kpoke odia na oynia	A very peppery medicine does not necessarily heal a wound.
Gi ka wa ga gwa onye bu oka nmili	What will you tell the one who carries fresh corn?
We di ji ututu a k olu ubosi	You don’t determine the day by the morning alone
Egede da ka wa gwa akwu kwo we ji luia	The sound of a drum tells the nature of the hide
Ka onye sia aha ko sia ada	The size of a person tells how he will fall
Onywe wa ju adia ju onwe	The one who is neglected must not neglect himself
Nwangbo a maho onwu di	A damsel does not know the pain of a losing a husband
Agadi akaka ne gwu ma le te	An old woman never gets old in the dance you knows the steps well
Odi di ma ka alu me ka nwata ma li alu	It is good for an abomination to happen so a child can understand what is abomination
Ima du imadu nu wunye, bua agbadole ute	You will not help a man marry his wife and also get him the mat to sleep with his wife
Oge madu te te bu ututu ia	Your morning is when you wake up
Nwa kpa nya nwa nkita na awu o taka ba akwa	You cuddle a puppy too closely, it tears your clothes
Anwu ko sie akwa ony nwe ni ekolu	After the sun has dried clothes, the owner just comes to pick it from the rail
Ibeku a dia ko ni inu	The tortoise story is never absence in a folkstories
Kpudo imi we li udala da shibe nsi	Cover your noise and take the cherry that falls near feaces
Ife agadi fu ko dani ani Nwata kulo o ma fu a	What an adult sees sitting, a child standing cannot see it
Egwu edi ke bido nwan gbada e ti jie ukwu	The dance has not begun, but the baby antelope has broken her leg
Ti we afele ejie nyem ini	Break that plate you use to give me food