10 Famous African Proverbs and Wise Sayings with their Meanings

Every culture has its collection of proverbs which give advice on life or state a general truth. African people have a lot of proverbs which have been transmitted from generation to generation.

Here is a list of ten famous African proverbs, with their meanings, to inspire you:

1. Ears that don’t listen, accompany the head when it’s chopped off

 Meaning: A person that doesn't give heed to advice will bear the consequences afterwards

2. The best way to eat an elephant in your path is cut him up into little pieces

Meaning: The best way to approach a huge problem is step by step or bit by bit

3. Not everyone who chased the zebra caught it, but he who caught it, chased it.

Meaning: Trying does not guarantee success but you can never achieve success if you don’t try.

4.  He who does not know one thing knows another

Meaning: No one knows everything. But everyone knows something.

5. Rain beats a leopard’s skin, but it does not wash out the spots

Meaning: No matter how much you try you cannot change who you are

6. When a lion becomes old, even flies attack him.

Meaning: When a person loses his power even those who were below him attack him

7. The fly that had no one to advise him, follows a corpse to the grave

Meaning: A person that doesn't have someone to give him counsel will be dragged into problems or bad situations

8. You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla

Meaning: Don’t offer advice to someone who is wiser or more experienced than you are.

9.  If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Meaning: When you are on your own it’s easy to make decisions and take risks which helps you cover a lot of ground quickly. But you can only get so far alone, there will come a time when you get weary and need someone to support you. No one accomplishes great things unless there are others by their side.

10. One cannot both feast and become rich

Meaning: You cannot accumulate wealth if you are not prudent

I hope you enjoyed reading these proverbs and gained some insights. If you have different interpretations to these proverbs or if you want to add other African proverbs feel free to comment below!

Thanks for reading,

Lidia