Name: The Wisdom of African Proverbs
Uploaded: 2026-02-18T17:23:04.000Z
Duration: 3 min 14 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Many of humanity's wisest ideas have been expressed in the form of proverbs.

The difficulty is that many great proverbs have been weakened by centuries of overexposure.

Adverbs of manner

The homely English saying look before you leap undeniably contains a central nugget of wisdom.

Yet to cite it blithely in its native place, can feel underwhelming.

It's simply been said far too often for its truth to prove effective.

This is why we stand in great need of proverbs from somewhere else.

Proverbs whose words can feel fresh and surprising and whose underlying wisdom will seem newly and immediately relevant.

We are blessed that sub Saharan Africa has an extremely vibrant and long standing tradition of proverbs.

Among ethnic groups, including the Yoruba, the Kolanga, the Igbo, the Hausa and the Maasai, wisdom is handed down in the form of short, often acerbic or melancholy sayings about the human condition that can be put to use in everyday situations, ranging from choosing a career to enduring family life.

We've gathered together some of our favourites.

When two elephants fight, it's the grass that gets trampled.

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.

Once you carry your own water, you'll remember every drop.

If you assume you're too small to make a difference, spend a night with a mosquito.

No matter how hot your anger is, it cannot cook yams.

One cannot prepare for the dry season by simply drinking plenty of water.

He who offended forgets, but he who suffered from the offense does not.

You can't use your hand to force the sun to set until a lion learns to write.

The child ignored by the village will burn it down just to feel its warmth.

Even the tongue and the teeth quarrel now and then.

He who excretes in the road will likely meet flies on his return.

An empty sack cannot stand up, a full sack cannot bend.

When the patient dies, the dances may change, the drums are the same.

And finally, a proverb about the utility of proverbs.

To go through life without proverbs is like eating a bowl of rice without sauce.

The power of African proverbs doesn't lie in presenting entirely new ideas, but

Their role isn't to change our thinking, but

to remind us of what we know full well already, but

Subtitles ListPlay Video

The Wisdom of African Proverbs

relevant

assume

essential

extremely