Proverbs (Thimo)

Goodness begin at home

Meaning: Means charity begins at home.

It is always the potato of another family boy that extinguishers the fire. The proverb alludes to the custom of roasting potatoes in the embers of a dying fire.

Meaning: Nobody calls himself rogue.

The mouth that ate the seeds asks, 'Now what shall I plant?'

Meaning: He sups ill who eats up all at dinner.

The food that is in the mouth is not yet in the belly.

Meaning:

The Kikuyu know how to conceal their quiver, but do not know how to conceal their secrets.

Meaning: The kikuyu, though very clever in concealing their arms, cannot keep secrets from the members of their tribe.

Wives and oxen have no friends.

Meaning: There are things which are not be given to friends .

When there is shortage of figs, birds eat the fruits of the muguma.

Meaning: The tree called mugumo by the natives bears little fruits that are not eaten by birds when there is plenty of other food.

The forest of an unpleasant person is the one that has trees.

Meaning: The proverb means that evil -doers often do prosper.

"You cannot make an appointment with death".

Meaning: It means that death is unpredictable, and no one can schedule or plan when their life will end.

"Strength does not correspond with courage".

Meaning: Being physically large or strong does not automatically mean a person has the internal fortitude or boldness to face difficult or dangerous situations.

"Strength has no wealth".

Meaning: Being physically strong or using brute force does not guarantee wealth, success, or material possessions.

Every case begins from the stomach

Meaning: The kikuyu have an ox or a goat killed, roasted and distributed to judges at the beginning of every case.

Every case begins from the stomach

Meaning: The kikuyu have an ox or a goat killed, roasted and distributed to judges at the beginning of every case.

No one regrets things when leaving, but rather when they return.

Meaning: People often leave or act with high confidence, ignoring warnings or needs.

What is masai is not in kikuyu.

Meaning: There is many a slip twixt the cup and the lip

Another person's mouth cannot take an oath for you.

Meaning: Every bird must hatch its own egg.

What is in the stomach/belly does not unfold or reveal itself.

Meaning: Tell the truth and shame the devil .

The dunghill grows by straws thrown upon it.

Meaning: Every little helps.

You cannot rob a leopard of its cub while it is awake

Meaning: You should never underestimate someone or try to take away what rightfully and fiercely belongs to them

A brave warrior does not fear consequences .

Meaning: A person of action must be willing to take risks and face the difficult outcomes or criticisms that come with making tough decisions.

He is a man that looks after money as njuu looks after locusts.

Meaning: Njuu is a bird which accompanies migrating locusts to feed on them.

Two wives are two pots full of poison.

Meaning: The more women you have in your house, the more troubles you must expect.

Men do not know liberity

Meaning: One does not give without hope of return

Live men do not lack work

Meaning: life would be too smooth if it had no rubs in it.

The elders drink afterwards.

Meaning: Elderly people are not in such a hurry as young ones.

Bought things do not fill the granary.

Meaning: Do not hope to become rich without cultivating your fields.

The buying of a wife begins from a little thing.

Meaning: Great events have small beginnings.

The window's sons have no tears.

Meaning: It means that they have been accustomed to suffer very early

The lawsuit of a fool keeps the court all day

Meaning: The lawsuit of a fool never comes to an end.

We speak by proverb; he who is intelligent will understand .

Meaning:

He who adorns himself knows to what to what sort of dance he is going .

Meaning: The is a reason for everthing.

The fool takes many people with him"

Meaning: A fool cannot bear his own company.

The piece of cloth that is sometimes the one that leads you to the highway.

Meaning:

The grove of the heart is not laid open.

Meaning: It means that a person's inner thoughts, deep emotions, or true intentions are private and cannot be fully seen or exposed by others.

A secret agreement enabled people to kill watatua.

Meaning: Watatua was a powerful Chief, invincible in open combat, who was killed at night by a few men.

Every feast has its gets of honor.

Meaning: It means that every special event, gathering, or undertaking has a specific person for whom it is truly meant or who holds the highest importance in that context.

"To wait is not to tremble"

Meaning: Its deeper meaning is that men's actions or situations should not be judged at first sight, and that patience is a sign of calm confidence rather than fear or weakness.

"To wait is not to tremble"

Meaning: Its deeper meaning is that men's actions or situations should not be judged at first sight, and that patience is a sign of calm confidence rather than fear or weakness.

"To wait is not to tremble"

Meaning: Its deeper meaning is that men's actions or situations should not be judged at first sight, and that patience is a sign of calm confidence rather than fear or weakness.

Lying is a thief's stronghold.

Meaning: It means that a person who does wrong or steals will always try to deny it fiercely, as denial is their main defense.

He who does not know, knows after being told.

Meaning: A man forewarned is forearmed.

"The only thing that is good though old is the muratina .

Meaning: Unlike most things that lose value, break down, or become useless as they get old, muratina becomes better and more potent with age when used to ferment traditional brew (njohi).

Beggars have no worries

Meaning: It highlights that a destitute person who owns nothing does not carry the mental anxieties, burdens, or heartaches of managing, protecting, or losing wealth. An English equivalent is "Poverty needs no granary" or "Beggars have no worries.

Beggars have no worries

Meaning: It highlights that a destitute person who owns nothing does not carry the mental anxieties, burdens, or heartaches of managing, protecting, or losing wealth. An English equivalent is "Poverty needs no granary" or "Beggars have no worries.

Beggars have no worries

Meaning: It highlights that a destitute person who owns nothing does not carry the mental anxieties, burdens, or heartaches of managing, protecting, or losing wealth. An English equivalent is "Poverty needs no granary" or "Beggars have no worries.

Talking something over is better than leaving it pending.

Meaning: Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.

"There is no one of the stomach and one of the back."

Meaning: It means that all people—especially children in a family or members of a community—deserve equal love, fairness, and care.

"A wily or crafty person does not walk on dry leaves".

Meaning: Metaphorically, it means that a cunning or guilty person is extremely cautious and avoids doing things that would expose their secrets, presence, or wrong doings .

"Resist the beginnings"

Meaning: "Stop it before it grows too big/overpowers you."

"The cow is given a present when her calf is taken away".

Meaning: when one thing causes you distress or loss, another thing comes along to console or compensate you.

"Great haste breaks the yam tuber instead of taking it out whole".

Meaning: Haste trips up its own heels

Stolen things bring in misfortune.

Meaning: Ill-gotten goods seldom prosper.

A plant loses its blossom as soon at it bears fruits.

Meaning: Woman's beauty is spoilt by maternity.

A little idleness lost a tilled field.

Meaning: A little idleness leak can sink a great ship.

Submissions needed for translation

Meaning: Simply means people who meet have the opportunity to make a decision

Men have got quills

Meaning: Do not annoy others because they will respond by hurting

A households affairs should not go out

Meaning: Used to emphasis on the imporance of not airing dirty linen in public

Going to bed with unresolved issues is bad

Meaning: Used in domestic context, it encourages people to resolve an differences as soon as possible

The property of a helpless man must nit be divided before his death.

Meaning: The reason is that he is unable to get anything more than he already possesses.

Children of the same father don't fight

Meaning: A rallying call for oneness among families

Ten helpless people were surpassed by a single strong person.

Meaning: One strong person is better than ten helpless ones.

A little, contemptible path is sometimes the one that leads you to the highway.

Meaning: Small beginnings, humble approaches, or overlooked details can lead to big, important outcomes

Nobody cries that has not been pinched.

Meaning: No smoke without fire.

Darkness caused to dance even him who cannot.

Meaning: All cats are the same in colour at night

Gicegu of many men is not good.

Meaning: Gicegu is that part of the kikuyu hut where they enclose the ram in order to fatten it. To many cooks spoils the broth.

A piece of land is not a little thing.

Meaning: The proverb means that however small the field you possesses, it has its importance if you work it.

By staying always in the same place one gets lice.

Meaning: The world is a great book, of which they that never stir from home read only page.

The land enriches not the person who clears it, but the person who comes after it is cleared.

Meaning: It means that the heavy initial labor of starting a project or opening up land often benefits later comers rather than the original pioneer.

The chest contains a beehive full of pride.

Meaning: Proud people means that proud people have always in store lots of reasons justifying their wickedness.

Nobody grumbles while carrying a load, but [they start] grumbling when they have laid it down on the ground.

Meaning: When a person is actively engaged in a task, journey, or responsibility, they often keep quiet and push through the physical or mental weight.

Leaking from the base of the traditional baskets

Meaning: Means things have gone horribly wrong

Peoples laughters are not equalto a Hyenas cries

Meaning: Used to encourage people that their situation is not as dire as they seem to imagine

There is no small gunuea when dust bathing

Meaning: Used to discourage underestimating anyone in broad contexts but commonly in matters of the bedroom

No bee lacks a flower

Meaning: Used in matters of love to communicate that everyone can have a suitable partner

No Cockerel crows in unfamiliar sorrounding

Meaning: Encourages people to be mindful of their behaviour and mannerisms when they are guests somewhere

No sun lacks baskers

Meaning: Submissions needed for meaning

No Animal screams without being bitten

Meaning: Used to encourage helping people in distress

A single hand cannot tie a bundle

Meaning: Stresses cooperation and collective effort

It doesn’t land where its aimed at

Meaning: Used to broadly mean people who wish you harm will always fail

Hyenas far away cannot stripmeat in bones

Meaning: Encourages people against relying on promises or help that’s not at hand

A hyena has never eaten its cub

Meaning: Submissions needed for meaning

A hyena intending to eat its cub accuses it of smelling like a goat

Meaning: Used to refer to betrayal situations where close friends, family , colleagues etc falsely accuse one of their own

A hyena with nausea does not grow fat

Meaning: Used to encourage people to work hard and not be chosey when presented with opportunities

Loose weight over you own affairs

Meaning: Directed at people meddling in other peoples affairs. A simple way to say Mind your own business

Fools rejoice for a bad thing.

Meaning: A fool will laugh when he is drowning.

An army without a plan is defeated with a single club

Meaning: It encourages people to never overlook preperations and planning especially in joint undertakings

Once a pregancy displaces clothing, you can't hide it anymore

Meaning: Used in situations where there is clear evidence to something that has't been disclosed yet, e.g an affair

Submissions needed for translation

Meaning: Submissions needed for meaning

The son of the leopard scratches like its mother.

Meaning: Like father like son.

One finger does not kill a louse.

Meaning: Union is strength

The stream does not pass over an old stone [through respect to its age].

Meaning: Old age is honourable.

A son as cunning as his father knows the arrows like his father.

Meaning: Like carpenter like chips.

"A knife and a shaving-knife are alike.

Meaning: If you do not have something you need, you will have something you can use instead. Necessity is the mother of invention.

The blessed knife [son] eats of the meat of the kinandu.

Meaning: Kinadu is a small calabash used to keep oil, fat and the best morsels of meat. They say that the father shares the contents of the kinandu with the most beloved son.

A sharp knife cuts its owner

Meaning: Used to caution people against over indulging in situations that can come back to bite them

He who is full does not understand what is told[about others' troubles.

Meaning: Another's burden does not worry us.

The rambling pole cat leaves its house when there is a banquet.

Meaning: The son that leaves his father's house for liberty's sake will not share his father's inheritance.

Kamau who is white becomes black

Meaning: Kamau is typical name. Proverb means there is nothing constant in this word.

"A little idleness (or procrastination) causes the ruin of the beehive".

Meaning: It is a traditional kĩkũyũ wise saying used to warn people against neglect, laziness, and putting off important tasks.

A group of people lifts a mortal.

Meaning: Many hands make light work

The whetstone in the village does not blunt the knife.

Meaning: Every potter praises his own pots.

Take an oath only for the hand you slept on.

Meaning: Swear only to what which you know to be true.

The mouth that allulates is the same mouth that screams

Meaning: Submissions needed for meaning

The mouth is a chink

Meaning: From the mouth come many futilities

The mouth sells the head.

Meaning: The tongue talks at the head's cost.

You spoke with your own mouth.

Meaning: Means that one can condemn oneself in defending oneself.

A small red snuff-box or calabash is a welcome.

Meaning: Refers to a kikuyu custom of giving a pinch of snuff to their friends when they meet.

Submissions needed for translation

Meaning: Submissions needed for meaning

The little bird that flaps its wings too much will ruin/spoil them.

Meaning: One must crawl before one can walk.

He who is stricken knows how to defend himself.

Meaning: A scalded cat fears even cold water" or "Once bitten, twice shy.

It is not the owner, trampling his own field, that spoils it (but the others).

Meaning: This proverb originates from farming life. If a farmer has a bad harvest, they will often blame passersby who walked across their plantation rather than admitting their own mistakes or poor farming practices.

A person will change his mind on something if left to sleep over it.

Meaning: Never leave till tomorrow what you can do today.

That which spends the night steps on itself: A person will change their mind on something if left to sleep over it.

Meaning: It encourages patience and reflection when making heavy choices or during a heated conflict. In Gikũyũ culture, it reminds individuals that a night of rest brings clarity, cools down anger, and allows a person to approach a situation with a clear, transformed mindset the next day.

A prophet copies a prophet" or "A shooter copies a shooter.

Meaning: People of the same trade, character, or lineage tend to mimic or exhibit identical traits. It is most frequently applied when children naturally inherit the behaviors, skills, or mannerisms of their parents

The shoe is made for the foot that will wear it or Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches or To each their own.

Meaning: You are the best judge of your own life, choices, and circumstances.

The child who rejects his mother does not get full, fat or satisfied.

Meaning: Stubbornly refusing help, guidance, or the proper source of sustenance out of pride or anger only hurts yourself.

The sleeping dog is turned over with a stick

Meaning: Do not stir up old troubles, dormant conflicts, or a quiet person who is at peace.

Submissions needed for translation

Meaning: Submissions needed for meaning

The mouth that has saliva does not lack words.

Meaning: The proverb means that the man who something to say will say it.

The food eaten first lasts longest in the stomach.

Meaning: First impressions are most lasting.

A grain of millet grown on the road will bear no ears.

Meaning: A pot that belongs to many is ill stirred and worse boiled.

Gathering firewood before ascertaining the meat availability

Meaning: Discourages people from hasty decisions

The song that lacks a lead singer goes wrong

Meaning: Without proper leadership, guidance, or a clear coordinator, plans or organizations easily lose direction and fail.

The elders of the council do not jump over the brook.

Meaning: The elders who are to judge a case must not hurry. Often means that a person like a judge should not to do anything undignified.

A really good thing is ever good.

Meaning: A good tale is none the worse for being twice told.

A guard with buttock supports itself

Meaning:

The unspoken never wins

Meaning: Encourages people to speak up and be heard

A bite piece and another meet in the stomach

Meaning: Submissions needed for meaning

A bent person is not a bent tree

Meaning: Urges people to respect and uphold human respect and dignity regardless of perecieved weaknesses and vulnerabilities

You fetch from an old mans guard when he is not looking

Meaning: Used to encourage young people to respect their elders

Submissions needed for translation

Meaning: Submissions needed for meaning

A fool is not beaten

Meaning: Cautions people against wasting time and energy on lost causes

When a frog is helped across a river it claims it crossed unaided

Meaning: Brings attention to ungrateful attitudes

Lacking dowry goats is lacking a wife

Meaning: Calls on people to be prepared and to always plan to attain desired results

Ignoring the ceremony symbolising full dowry payment is dangerous

Meaning: Encourages people to honour tradition

Witnessing the extraordinary doesn’t mean you are old

Meaning: Submissions needed for meaning

Grain stored is better than a promise.

Meaning: Values preparation and tangible results over empty words

A born child can't be disowned

Meaning: Used to ecourage parents with troublesome children to continue trying to guide and rehabilitate them

A beloved child is given a portion (or a piece of meat) by his father.

Meaning: This is a traditional cultural saying that represents a father's love, provision, and favor toward the child who is closest to his heart

A visitor is like a flowing river.

Meaning: A guest is only passing through and will eventually leave, so treat them with utmost hospitality while they are with you.

A brave woman does not leave the elephant's tusk behind.

Meaning: When you set out to achieve a difficult task, you must be determined to finish it completely without giving up halfway.

A man without a wife is like a tree without branches

Meaning: Highlights the importance of partnership and family

A stick without a tree cannot stand

Meaning: Everything depends on its source; respect your roots.

A home is known by who resides there not who visits

Meaning: Used to bring awareness that as an outsider you can never have the whole picture and not to take sides especially in domestic disputes

A deceased goes no where

Meaning: A clarion call to fondly remember people who have passed away

A disease between two lovers is addressed by talking

Meaning: Ecounrages fighting couples to talk it out

He who is circumcised away from home doesn't heal

Meaning: Submissions needed for meaning

A farmer's hands/arms should not be broken.

Meaning: It means one shouldn't discourage or harm someone who provides for them.

A wise person is the one who is advised.

Meaning: To gain wisdom one should listen to advise, listen and learn from others. One must be ready for guidance.

A cow knows the shepherd not the milkman

Meaning: The wisdom illustrates the difference between genuine loyalty and transactional relationships. mũkami only comes to extract value while mũrīithi truly cares for the animal

The cow that bellows is not the one that bites.

Meaning: Words are not always matched by action.

Stored firewood laughs at the bring firewood

Meaning: People laugh and make fun of those in trouble yet are next in line.

Family disputes are not judged in public

Meaning: Stresses discretion and resolving issues privately.

When a calf is being taken away, the cow is given some feed

Meaning: Encourages people to be fair in their dealings

You chase a cow away before it crosses into the shamba

Meaning: Used to caution people against making decisions too late when damage is already done

The owner of burning house watches on and feels the hear

Meaning: Encourages people to not give up in difficult situations and even it comes to it, to go down fighting

Once its felled, it can't refuse being butchered

Meaning: Used to refer to situations where one is utterly defeated or at wits end and everything is out of their hands

Old age cannot be washed away in the river.

Meaning: Certain realities of life, like aging or past mistakes, are inevitable and permanent. You must accept them rather than fighting them.

Unity is strength

Meaning: Its shows how people should work together to succeed, it encourages team work.