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Shona Definition
Kana munhu asina chinhu haana. Kunyange achida kupa hama dzake dzapamwoyo anotokundikana kuvapa kana chimwe zvacho nokuda kwoushayi.
English Translation
You can only hand something over if you actually have it. Someone with nothing fails to give even to the relatives closest to his heart, not from meanness but from want.
Cultural Context
“Offered in sympathy for people whose apparent lack of generosity is really the result of poverty.”
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This is a variant of
Kushaya kunokunyimisa nowaunenge uchidaPoverty forces you to withhold even from the person you are fond of.