Somali Proverbs

In the ocean, one does not need to sow water.

You lend a false ear to false words.

One doesn't tell a man 'go away' but one shows him something so he will go.

One refusing a sibling's advice breaks his arm.

Think before you do.

These youth taught their mother to give birth.

Men for tea, women for talk.

Where there is negotiation, there is hope for agreement.

Let what is on this side of the bank be washed out by the flood, and what is on that side of the bank be carried away by the wind.

A deer is an elder to its family.

He who does not shave you does not cut you.

A thief is always under suspicion.

A brother is like one's shoulder.

An escaped lie does not reach the truth.

He is a fool who marries an old woman without teeth.

A person stands next to a shade not next to words.

The bridge is repaired only after someone falls in the water.

If you want to dismantle a hedge, remove one thorn bush at a time.

He who takes responsibility becomes the target of the people.

A dog which refuses a bone is not alive.

A married couple is neither enemies nor friends.

A brave man dies once, a coward a thousand times.

A cat in her house has the teeth of a lion.

To be without a friend is to be poor indeed.

One should rise to a person who sees you sitting.

The person who does not listen to an elder's advice gets his or her leg broken.

A thousand assignations, one marriage.

Water and milk do not mix.

A coward is full of precaution.

The stronger man will rule the house.

Do not walk into a snake pit with your eyes open.

The teeth and the tongue are close neighbors, and yet they sometimes bite each other.

The best bed that a man can sleep on is peace.

Ignorance is blindness.

You should discuss over a dog's hide when it concerns your interest.

The ear cannot hold as much water as it does news.

Only water in your hands can satisfy your thirst.

A man one year elder to you is one cunning year elder to you.

You don't go searching for bones in a lion's den.

Either be a mountain or lean on one.

The child you sired hasn't sired you.

A sinking persons grabs a straw.

A brave man is scared of a lion three times: first when he sees the tracks; second when he hears the first roar; and third when they are face to face.

Your woman should be in the house or in the grave.