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Shona Definition
Chinhu chinotsvira mwoyo kazhinji hachiwanikwi asi chiya chinongotsvagwa munhu asina hanya ndicho chinowanikwa nyore. Mukomana angada mumwe musikana asi iye musikana achimuramba, zvigozoti uya mukomana ongopfimbawo musikana achingoedza, achibva adiwa.
English Translation
What you chase after with all your heart is what escapes you, while what you go after casually falls into your hands. A young man who sets his heart on a particular girl is turned down, yet the girl he approaches half-heartedly accepts him.
Cultural Context
“Applied to the irony of earnest effort failing where indifferent effort succeeds, as in courtship.”
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