Tsumo dzakadudzirwa neChingezi (Shona proverbs translated to English) Avuțian
- Muiksana chihambakwe, asvika anokanda chibwe. = A girl is a cairn, whoever comes adds a stone. (It is natural for girls to be courted.)
- Mhembwe rudzi, kuzvara mwana ane kazhumu. = A duiker is one of a species, if it bears a child, he will have a tuft on his head. (like father, like son)
- Kuneta kwomukuyi, sadza rinodyiwa navagere. (Tiredness is for the grinder, the porridge is eaten by those who sit around. (One may sow and another will reap.)
- Mwana wenyoka mwana wenyoka, haana muduku. = A young snake is a young snake, it is never too small. A poisonous snake may be lethal even from birth.
- Muromo chipfuto, unopedza matura. = The mouth is a weave, it consumes granaries.
- Mukuwasha mukuyu, haapere kudyiwa. = A son-in-law is a fig-tree, he never stops being consumed. (payment of the bride price may go on over a long time)
- Chirema chine mazano, chinotamba chakazendama kumadziro. A disabled with ideas will dance leaning to the wall. = A person must come to terms with his limitations,
- Zuva igore, rinodoka rava namarevo mavi namavuya. = A day is a year. It ends with its fill of bad and good news.
- Muroyi munhu, kubayiwa anochemawo. = A witch is human, when pricked she too cries. (No person, no matter how much he boasts, is invulnerable.)
- Zino irema, rinosekerera warisingadi. = The tooth is a fool, it smiles at one it does not like. (A smile can hide all sorts of inner feelings.)
- Mbiri matende, inoputsika. = Fame is a fragile gourd, it breaks. (One’s reputation will be destroyed if one does not take care of it.)
- Ugaro mwena, kutevedza hunoguma. = Life is a hole in the ground, follow and it comes to an end. (Everyone is mortal.)
- Mwana wengwe mwana wengwe, kuona chikara haatizi. = A leopard’s cub is a leopard’s cub, if it sees a wild beast it does not flee.
- Chakafukidza dzimba matenga. = What covers houses are the roofs. (A peaceful exterior may hide trouble inside.)
- Chawira pasi mudzimu wembwa. = The fallen scrap is due to the dog’s ancestral spirit. (It is a piece of good luck.)
- Nzira masanga. = Paths mean meetings. (One learns different ways by meeting others; or, a common solution or aim may be reached by different paths.)
- Gore musandu. = Every year is a change.
- Gore harizi pakaza rimwe’. = No year comes from where another came. (Fortune knocks once at man’s door.)
- Mwana washe muranda kumwe. = The son of a chief is a subject elsewhere.
- Mai musuva usingasehwi mumuto. = Mother is a morsel but not dipped into gravy. (Some persons are sacred, and not for common use)
- Hukwana inodya ndeiri pana mai. = The chick that feeds is the one that is close to its mother.
- Chitende chinorema ndechine mhodzi. = The gourd which is heavy is the one which has seeds. (Respect is accorded to inner qualities rather than to outward appearance.)
- Kure kwegava ndokusina mutsubvu. = Far for a jackal is where there is no mutsubvu fruit tree. (The attractiveness of any work depends upon one’s interest.)
- Kwadzinorohwa matumburira ndiko kwadzinomhanyira. = Where they are kicked in the belly, is the place to which they run. (Harshness attracts more than kindness, for example it is held that women are attracted to harsh men.)
- Vataitururira matohwe nhasi ndivo votiseka maparapadzwa. = Those for whom we got down snot apples are the ones who laugh at our bruises today. (kindness is not repaid by respect)
- Kangoma kanoririsa ndiko kanotsemuka. = The little drum which sounds the loudest is the one which splits. (When a fashion or a man’s popularity is at its height, it is then that it is about to fade.)
- Chidziva chakadzikama, ndicho chinogara ngwenya. = The quiet pool is the one in which the crocodile lives. (Do not underestimate an enemy. It is the thing you despise that kills you.)
- Chigarisano ndicho chine mhosva. = What leads to living together is what leads to accusation. (Familiarity breeds contempt.)
- Muto wetsenza ndiwo mumwe. = Soup made from tuber roots is one and the same. (Tthe attraction of variety, for example in women, is an illusion.)
- Mugoni wepwere ndiye asinayo. = The one who can manage a child is the one who has none.
- Mazvokuda kufa namaronda enyora. = It’s a deliberate choice to die from the wounds of tattoo marks. (Consequences of our own choice can’t be blamed on others.)
- Chigare chenda kudya akaitakura. = It’s the louse’s won’t to bite the one who bears it. (A comment evoked by ingratitude,)
- Made echakata kutsvukira mumuti kuti ndiposherwe. = It’s the trick of the wild plum to redden on the tree and so to become a target. (A comment on women’s wiles or vanity.)
- Mwoyochena ndowei bere kugarira munhu akafa? = What kindness is it for a hyena to mount guard over a dead man? (A comment on an offer of help not entirely disinterested or which is hypocritical.)
- Ishungu dzomutana waswera padare kuramba nemhandire seane meno. = It’s the ill-nature of an old man at the meeting place to begrudge others even mealie grains as if he had the teeth to munch them.
- Urombo hwayo mhembwe kufa iri pamusungo. = It’s hard luck on the duiker to die while in the snare. (a comment on stupidity in one who could have helped himself.)
- Manenji kuona kamba ichitamba nembudzi. = It’s a marvel to see a leopard playing with a goat. (A suspicious comment on something which appears unnatural.)
- Idambudziko rehope kurota kwawakarambwa. = It’s a sleep that brings no benefit the dreaming of a rejected lover.
- Igangaidza-mukwenyi mhezi kuvavira mudumbu. = It’s troubling for the patient for the lump to itch inside his belly. (Some situations cannot be helped.)
- Maramba-kukombwa maramba-hweni. One who won’t be surrounded is one who won’t be visited.
- Ziriwo rechembere ziramba-waravira. = The unattractive relish of an old woman is refused only after tasting it. (Do not be put off by appearances.)
- Kuramba dzvuku kuona jena. = To reject a red one means seeing a white one. (Do not refuse or reject anything unless you have something better.
- Kukokwa kwasamusha kukokwa kwavagere naye. = The invitation of a village head is the invitation of those who dwell with him.
- Kukonwa kwedare kukonwa kwamambo.= For a court to be convinced means the chief is convinced.
- Matukirwo ababa kunema mwana. = The way a father is scolded is to chide a child in play. (Reproof is best conveyed indirectly.
- Mutsa worutsoka kuperekedza ziso. = he stupidity of the foot is to accompany the eye. (it is stupid to accompany someone on some errand from which one cannot profit oneself)
- Pfini yenyoka kungoruma icho isingadyi. The spite of the snake is just to bite what it cannot eat. (it is gratuitously evil to inflict pain for no reason.)
- Kupedza nyota kuenda padziva. = To quench thirst is to go to the pool. (if help is wanted, one should go to an expert or an eyewitness)
- Dzvinyu kuzamba zuva huona bako. = For a lizard to bask in the sun is to have a cave in view. (if you venture into danger, be sure you have a means of escape)
- Mbudzi kudya mufenje kufana nyina. = For a goat to eat cabbage-tree leaves is to imitate its mother. (Like father, like son)
- Kakara kununa hudya kamwe. = For an animal to get fat is to eat another one. (one man prospers at the expense of another)
- Nhonhongora kudya chayo kukumbirirei uchi kudondi? = A big bee eating its own store why ask for honey from a small one? (It is arrogant for a rich man to beg from a poor man)
- Chura kugara mumvura handi kunwa. = For a frog to live in water does not mean to drink. (Do not be misled by appearances into making rash judgments)
- Kurembera kwedamba handi ndiko kuwa.= The hanging of a wild orange is not its fall.
- Kubikira mweni kumudzinga. = To cook, for a stranger is to get rid of him. (Do not be too ready with help for others if you wish to retain their presence or their respect.)
- Kiziva ambuya huudzwa. = To know one’s in-laws means being told — who they are. (Knowledge comes from others.)
- Kudada kwavari mugomo kukumbira vari pasi mapfiwa. = Arrogance of those on the hill is to ask those on the plain for hearth-stones. (It is arrogant, not humble, for those who have plenty to beg from those who have little.)
- Kuramba nyama yechidembo hunge uine yetsuro. =To refuse the flesh of a polecat means you have that of a hare. (Refusal of a gift implies you have no need of it.)
- Kuchengeta imbwa yomweni kuda mwene wayo. = To look after the dog of a stranger is to love its owner. (love me, love my dog)
- Kurava mbudzi nedzisipo kurava nedzava matowo. = Counting even absent goats means counting even dead ones (those which have become hides.) (do not rely on something of which you are not certain.)
- Kupa kuturika. = To give is to hang up. (giving to help others is a good investment)
- Chenga ose manhanga hapana risina mhodzi. = Keep all the pumpkins there is none without a seed.
- Mhondoro kurura, inotanga wayo. = When a lion-spirit goes wild, it sets on its own (kinsman).
- Kubaya, tange hama, vatorwa vakutye. = When killing, first set on your kinsmen, so that strangers may respect you. (Be impartial if you would be respected.)
- .Kurera imbwa, rera inoruma, igokudzivirira mupfumvu. = If you rear a dog, rear one that bites, that it may protect you in time of danger.
- Benzi kunge riri rako kudzana kwaro unopururudza. = Let a fool be your own (kin), his dancing you’ll applaud. (Though others may laugh at the efforts or faults of your own children, you will find grounds to encourage them.)
- Kurera imbwa nomukaka mangwana inofuma yokuruma. = Bring up a dog on milk it will bite you first thing the next day. (one may spoil others by over-indulgence)
- Mwana muduku kubvuma rwendo rwake ruri mberi. = If a child agrees to an errand his own errand lies ahead. (One will endure inconvenience if one’s interest is involved.)
- Gondo kuengerera raona zumbu. = If an eagle circles round and round it has seen a fowl-coop.
- Zizi kurungwa munyu roti, ‘ndava hukuwo’. = If an owl is seasoned with salt it thinks, ‘i’m a chicken now too’. (a person is out of place in company with people with whom he has nothing in common, though he may strive to appear as one of them.)
- Chikomo, shata divi rimwe ritambire pwere. = Small hill, be difficult on one side and on the other children will play. (A bad man will have some redeeming features.)
- Chirere mangwana chigozokurerawo.= Care for it and it will care for you tomorrow. (Care for your child that he may care for you tomorrow.)
- Muroyi, royera kure ugowana anokuviga. = Witch, bewitch far away that you may find someone to bury you. (No matter how eveil you are, at least be good to your neighbors.)
- Usaguta ukasunda dura. = (Do not get so full as to overturn the barn. Do not be improvident.)
- Kana shumba ikashaya nyama inodya uswa. = If a lion lacks meat it eats grass. (beggars can’t be choosers.)
- Ukama hahusukwi nemvura hukabva. = Kinship is not washed with water and disappears. (even quarrels do not destroy kinship and its obligations.)
- Tsvaga zano iwe une rakowo. = Seek a plan when you have one of your own.
- Tenda muchero wadya zvinogadza mwoyo. = Be grateful for the fruit having eaten to satisfaction. (Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.)
- Usapedzera tsvimbo kuna vanamakuwe idzo hanga dzichauya. = Do not use up sticks on go-away birds while the guinea fowl have yet to come. (do not waste your time or substance on trifles)
- Rega kuyera nyoka negavi iyo iripo. = Do not measure a snake with string while it is present itself. (Do not substitute false imitations for the real thing.)
- Mhuno hainwi mvura muromo usina kunwa. = The nose does not drink if the mouth has not drunk. (Elders take precedence over juniors.)
- Zviururwi zvinofara kana kondo afa ziso. = The frogs rejoice when the hammerhead has lost its eye. (When the cat’s away, the mice do play)
- Pasi nyimo makunguo aizodyei? = If there were no ground-peas what would the crows eat? (A proverb addressed to a rejected suitor, ‘if i were not here you would have found another girl to woo’)
- Totenda maruva tadya chakata. = We believe in the blossoms when we have eaten the fruit. (Promises are not to be relied on until they are performed.)
- Hurudza inofa ichinzi inodya. = The rich farmer dies being said to eat.( A person once rich will not be credited with being poor.)
- Hove dzinokwira dzine muronga. = Fish go upstream having a channel. Progress depends on tried paths.
- Utsva hworurimi hahuna marapiro.= A burn on the tongue cannot be treated. Some problems have no solution
- Hwahwa hahuna mbuva. = Beer is no food for a journey.
- Hapana mhou inokumira mhuru isiri yayo. = No cow lows for a calf not hers. (Everyone knows his own kin.)
- Hapana angagone chisingagoneke nagone. = There is no one who can manage what can’t be managed bythe the manager.
- Nzou hairemerwi nenyanga dzayo. An elephant is not burdened by its own tusks. One should be equal to one’s responsibilities
- Chidembo hachinzwi kunhuhwa kwacho. = The polecat does not smell its own stink. People are blind to their own faults.
- Nhamo yomumwe hairambirwi sadza. = Another’s trouble is no reason to deny oneself food
- Matakadya kare haanyaradzi mwana. = The meals already eaten cannot impress a child. (Boasting of past successes will not solve present problems)
- Munongedzo hauzvinongedzi. = The index finger does not indicate itself. (People are blind to their own faults.)
- Pakukutu hapaurayi. = A hard bed does not kill. (Discomfort need not rob a man of his own dignity)
- Zviuya hazviwanani. = Good people do not marry each other.
- Unaki hwemukadzi huri pamwana. = The beauty of a wife lies in the child. A good wife is one who bears children.)
- Twemudenhe tune ushorwi. = Too little flour in the bin brings contempt; people despise an owner’s improvidence or stinginess.
- Rambakuudzwa akazoonekwa nembonje pahuma. = Headstrong was found with a head wound.
