Proverbs

Bemba Chewa Tonga Lozi Kaonde

Mansunsu Keechi mutwene.

Shoulders cannot go above the head.

The young should not disregard the authority of the old.

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kaonde Proverb Zambian
December 23, 2019
259 128

Kuja kwanomba kuuma mukanwa.

The eating of a singer is to be sharp on the mouth.

Prosperity depends upon hard work.

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kaonde Proverb Zambian
December 23, 2019
257 131

Munda mukyabu.

A womb is a bridge.

A family may consist of both good and bad people and hence; it should not be condemned wholesale for the mistake of one of its members.

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kaonde Proverb Zambian
December 23, 2019
261 131

Wakolwa munda yeulwa nakinzhilo.

He who has a ………..fights with the door

A person in difficulty should not wait for others to assist them come out of it.

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kaonde Proverb Zambian
December 23, 2019
260 120

Mumuchima wamukwenu munkundwe.

Your friend’s heart is a wilderness.

You cannot tell another person’s thoughts.

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kaonde Proverb Zambian
December 23, 2019
265 125

Kanwa kaalobeele mutwe.

The mouth put the head in trouble.

A person should be careful of what he says in order to avoid problems.

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kaonde Proverb Zambian
December 23, 2019
236 137

Fukafuka uja twabakulu talala wajamo kub

kneeling you eat with the elders, keep standing you have nothing.

You learn a lot of things from elders when you are humble but not when you are rude.

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kaonde Proverb Zambian
December 23, 2019
240 136

Kuboko kulonda kuboko kukwabo.

An arm follows another arm.

A person helps he who helps him.

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kaonde Proverb Zambian Help
December 23, 2019
259 126

Bichi biji pamo byoishenkana.

Trees that are together brush against each other.

It is normal for people living together to quarrel.

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kaonde Proverb Zambian
December 23, 2019
241 135

Kuswala mutu mwa lito.

To touch a person in the eye.

To deprive a person of something particularly important to him.

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lozi Zambian
December 28, 2019
241 138

Kuyumba simulamu.

To throw away like a stick.

To receive someone badly or in a disinterested manner.

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lozi Zambian
December 28, 2019
261 122

Tipa ye buhali.

A sharp knife.

The final arbiter or supreme judge in a trial case.

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lozi Zambian
December 28, 2019
250 130

Komu haiimelwi ki manaka ayona.

A cow does not find its horns heavy.

A person cannot fail to look after his family.

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lozi Zambian
December 28, 2019
255 121

Kufula mwa manamani.

To graze amongst calves.

To do things that are below ones capabilities and /or expectations.

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lozi Zambian
December 28, 2019
257 147

Bo lukanda ni siziba.

The belt and the kilt.

People who are very good friends.

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lozi Zambian
December 28, 2019
251 145

Kuca masipa a litaka zahao.

To eat your peer’s faeces.

To fail in life.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
257 150

Kukena mwa kazuma kakasina mwalo.

To enter a small basket that has no exit.

To be in great trouble.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
243 130

Kunatela kwa toho.

To hit on the head.

To state the very truth of the matter.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
260 146

Kukutisa lizoho.

To return a hand.

To do good to a person who did something good for you.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
263 136

Akaloti.

That which does not drip.

A stingy person.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
236 102

Sikampafwa.

A bat.

An unpredictable person.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
225 106

Kupepa wa kulu.

To bear children as the tortoise does.

To be negligent of one’s children.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
202 110

Kuba ni mala aboli.

To have rotten intestines.

To have wicked and useless children.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
223 104

Mezi amata mwasikuka saona.

Water flows in its channel.

A person asks for help from his relatives and /or close friends.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
228 103

Kuatula si-Libonda.

To pass judgment after the manner of the Libonda people.

To give a biased or an unfair judgment.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
240 105

Kuleka kweta.

To buy favour.

o give someone money, or some other precious thing, in order for him/ her to witness, or judgement in ones favour.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
236 110

Kufalaza mutu.

To make a person flee his village or country.

To take almost everything if not all of a person’s food money or possessions in general.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
241 109

Kututisa kalabo.

To shift kalabo to another site.

Something impossible to do.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
211 112

Mutu wa mwehae lubilo.

A person in a village cannot run fast.

A person should not react too harshly to inconveniences or minor offenses committed against him by neighbors, since he too might offend them in due course.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
243 111

Mwahanu kimwa sicani.

A woman is a thick bush.

What a person says may not be necessarily be true.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
252 104

Kupotoloha kacacani ka mwangalala.

To go around a mwangalala bush.

To go mad.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
December 28, 2019
220 99

Mukwati-kwati wanyama koolwa kanyinga ku

Whoever handles meat must have blood on his fingers.

Every worker is entitled to a fair reward.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
241 95

Mukwanwa kamukulu munuko kola bo kamukab

An Old’s mouth stinks, yet nothing false issues from it.

The old always have good judgement.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
232 118

Mukanwa mu syatwato.

A mouth is worn-out canoe.

A person can say something he did not intend to say.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
224 107

Siambelwa kule kasikolwa ashimbululi.

Something spoken in a far-off place cannot fail to get people to transmit it.

Do not speak ill of other people just because they are away.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
219 100

Sifupa sakena nositunda kunyama.

A bone may be white, yet, it once had meat on it.

Although an old man may look wretched, he had a strong and industrious life during his youth.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
210 99

Limbuta lihonga mweelo.

A crowd cheats a fool.

A person should be cautious of what is said at gathering.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
234 111

Kwezi kamuhinonga, angi kaana nyoko.

The moon is not day-light, many people are not your mother’s children.

A person should not provoke situations because he happens to be in a group; since he may end up facing the consequences of his actions alone.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
220 114

Musilazi ni mung’ole.

In tranquility lies danger.

A person should not take chances

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
227 105

Sakufangenda ka sikepaa ndambo.

What kills a visitor does not kill a local man.

Problems or hardships a visitor to a place may experience are not problems at all to the local people.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
218 96

Payili pawa.

Where there are two, it is good.

It is better for two or more people to witness an even.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
237 113

Sakutwa sakwila kasikasiye mandunga.

It is sharp, it boils and reaches the deepest parts of the river.

A person who is extremely strong or highly artistic.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
237 126

Ngombe mukutwaleta inywa meyi Makena.

The first cow drinks clean water.

A person who begins something e.g. a kind of business usually succeeds.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
226 117

Kanuke kasiambela kulungamene tumone.

A child who cannot be told let us wait and see.

Experience is the best teacher.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
236 105

Panakotamene mbwa panalepe, ulimi wambwa

A dog has been bending for too long, yet its agricultural yield is never seen.

Wasting one’s time on a useless or an unprofitable venture.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
237 98

Liyoka lyafa kale kulishangeza lingomba.

To accuse lingomba (a kind of bird) for the death of a snake that died a long time ago.

To accuse someone for mistakes made by others before him.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
230 117

Kupita kumwezi kulyangako.

To visit a sick person is to be feeding from his home.

There is need to work hard and produce much food.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
258 121

Sibuisa likundu ka wamwanjano, mwamba yo

He who uses a small paddle cannot go far; a person who has no witness cannot win a case.

A person cannot win a case unless he has strong facts and witnesses

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
254 113

Nde alyamui ahatandwa peunja yolya muwa.

When a lion eats a bad person and it is not killed, tomorrow it will eat a good person

A person who troubles the weak should be restrained, lest he turns upon the strong and respected later on.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
266 109

Sando sakulupala sinepaa anenge.

A reed-mat may be old, yet it had killed a lot of barbell fish.

Old people should not be despised or neglected because they had done a lot in their prime.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
259 125

Ndungulume mapa mulozi

A treacherous person is a relative of a witch.

Treachery is very wicked

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
269 117

Ndungulume mapa mulozi

A treacherous person is a relative of a witch.

Treachery is very wicked

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
255 131

Wakwanga kuita ongwele kuihimba.

If you cannot serve in the active forces join the carrier corps

A person should not be completely lazy and unproductive

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
261 135

Lyakufa luwawa kakawana musa wakuonza .

The day the jackal dies, it won’t find a musa tree under which to take shade

A bad person will not find assistance in his time of need.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
258 119

Sato sakufa mbasikaula ngombe

A broken canoe will not buy a cow

Damaging a person’s property may cost a fortune.

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 10, 2020
277 121

Ndiala mbayupela kuwa nyinawae

An orphan learns through the admonitions given to a child that has it’s mother

A child should take heed of pieces of advice directed to others

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 11, 2020
278 112

Kukwatela ndombe kuusila

To get hold of a barbel fish by the tail

To advance a weak argument in a court case

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 11, 2020
287 114

Abuwa mbaafweke, aamba mbaakumeke

Those who paddle normally land, those who speak normally come to a stop

Everything has an end

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 11, 2020
262 116

Mukulu ni likona

An old person is like a big mukona tree

Old people can be relied upon because of their experience

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lozi Zambian Proverb
January 11, 2020
276 118

woota yandeke

a blue lie or something that can never be done and is way out of the possible



urban Zambian idiom
March 27, 2020
237 119

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