30 Igbo Proverbs and their Meanings in English Language

1. Eze mbe si na ihe ya ji-achiri ihe egwu ya aga njem bu maka ya ezu ndiegwu. – The tortoise said that it always travels with its musical instrument in case it meets other musicians......Read The Full Article>>.....Read The Full Article>>

2. Gidi gidi bụ ugwu eze. – Unity is strength

3. Chọọ ewu ojii ka chi dị – Make hay while the sun shines

4. Eze mbe si na olu oha di mma, mana oriri oha na-aka ahu. – The tortoise said that many hands at work is enjoyable, but many mouths to feed can be embarrassing.

5. Ihe ehi hụrụ gbalaba oso ka okuku huru na-atụ onu – Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

6. Oge adighi eche mmadu – Time and tide wait for nobody.

7. Si kele onye nti chiri; enu anughi, ala anu. – Salute the deaf; if the heavens don’t hear, the earth will hear.

8. Ebe onye dara ka chi ya kwaturu ya. – Where one falls is where his god pushed him down.

9. Ihe di woro ogori azuala na ahia. – What was secret is revealed in the market place.

10. Ewu nwuru n’oba ji abughi agu gburu ya. – A goat that dies in a barn was never killed by hunger.

11. A ma ka mmiri si were baa n’opi ugboguru? – Who knows how water entered into the stalk of the pumpkin?

12. A chuo aja ma a hughi udele, a mara na ihe mere be ndimmuo. – If the vulture fails to hover at the end of a sacrifice, then you know that something happened in the land of spirits.

13. “Nwunye anyi, nwunye anyi”: ka ndeli bia ka anyi mara onye o bu nwunye ya. – “Our wife, our wife”: come midnight and we will know whose wife she really is.

14. Nwunye awo si na di atoka uto, ya jiri nuta nke ya kworo ya n’azu. – The female toad said that husband is so sweet that when she got married, she carried her husband permanently on the back.

15. Ugo chara acha adi(ghi) echu echu – A mature eagle feather will ever remain pure.

16. Onyeubiam adi(ghi) aza “Omeokachie.” – An indigent does not take the title of “Omeokachie” (i.e. one who completes whatever he puts his hand to)

17. A tuoro omara, o mara, a tuoro ofeke, o fenye ishi n’ohia. – If you tell a wise one, he understands; tell a dunce, he runs into the bush.

18. Otu onye tuo izu, o gbue ochu – Knowledge is never complete: two heads are better than one.

20. Nwaanyi muta ite ofe mmiri mmiri, di ya amuta ipi utara aka were suru ofe. – If a woman decides to make the soup watery, the husband will learn to dent the Garri before dipping it into the soup.

21. O na-abu a si nwata wuba ahu, o saba afo ya. – Tell a child to wash his body, he washes his stomach.

22. Akwukwo juru n’ohia, ma a baa a choba okazi. – There are various leaves in the bush, but people go in to look for okazi leaves.

23. Agwo emeghi nke o jiri buru agwo, umuaka achiri ya hie nku. – If a snake fails to show its venom, little kids will use it in tying firewood.

24. Ukpala gbabara n’ikpo okuko na-ala ala mmuo. – The grasshopper that runs into the mist of fowls ends up in the land of spirits.

25. Onye a kporo apari, o na-ehi n’amanna ya, abughi apari. – A presumed fool who sleeps in his father’s house is not a fool.

26. Ndi na-eje mposi abali na-ahu ukpana ndi mmuo. – Those who defecate at night see the ghost grasshopper.

27. Nwata bunie nna ya enu, akpaamu ya ayochie ya anya. – If a child lifts his father, his scrotum will blindfold him.

28. Onye hapu onu ya, uguru arachaa ya. – If one fails to lick his lips, the harmattan will do it.

29. Okuko si na ihe ya ji-ele anya n’enu ma ya na añu mmiri bu na ihe na-egbu si n’igwe abia. – The chicken says it looks up when drinking water because what kills it comes from the sky.

30. Ijiji na-enweghi onye ndumodu na-eso ozu ala n’inyi. – A fly that has no counselor follows the corpse to the grave

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