All Tsumo

Shona Proverbs

• Kabva muzai / kava kashiriOnce it has come out of the egg, it is already a bird.
• Kakara kununa / hudya kamweThe flesh of a fellow creature is what puts fat on a predator.
• Kakore kamwe chete hakasvitsi zhizha
• Kama wakaringa nzira / chimombe chokuronzerwaAs you milk a beast that was only lent into your care, keep an eye on the road. The animal is not truly yours and its owner may appear at any moment.
• Kambudzi kazvarira pavanhu / kuti nditandirwe imbwaWhen a little goat drops its kid among people, it is asking that the dogs be driven off for it.
• Kamoto kamberevere / kanopisa matanda mberiA tiny fire creeping along quietly will end up burning big logs further on. Something small and inconspicuous can grow into serious damage.
• Kamuhomba kadiki / kanoyeredzaEven a small furrow of water has enough force to sweep a person away.
• Kamusha ako usiri kunaka.
• Kamuti kupinyuka / mheno akapinyuraIf a burning stick suddenly flares up, somebody must have poked it. When a well-behaved child turns bad or a gentle person suddenly rages, someone has misled or provoked them.
• Kana museve woda nyama / unodauka pautaAn arrow hungry for meat springs from the bow of its own accord; strong desire for something propels one straight into action.
• Kana museve woda nyama / unovhomoka pautaA person can fall into wrongdoing almost without knowing how it happened, as though the deed had been set up in advance. When something is due to happen, it seems to arrange itself, like an arrow slipping from the bow once it wants meat.
• Kana mwezha wapfumba / mumwena mune mbeva. (K)A well-beaten track to one spot shows that the person found there what he was after, just as a worn hole means there are mice inside.
• Kana shumba ikashaya nyama / inodya uswaWhen a lion can find no meat, it will turn to eating grass. Need makes even the proudest settle for what they would normally refuse.
• Kandiro enda / kandiro dzokaNobody dislikes having kin who lend a hand, so the good you do for another is done back to you. A gift does not stay one-sided; it comes back in the end.
• Kandiro kanoenda / kunobva kamweA dish of food travels back toward the household that once sent one; what is given is answered with a gift in return.
• Kanyembana kumera munyemba / hunzi ndava nyembawoComing up in the middle of the bean crop, the tiny bean reckons that it now counts as a bean as well.
• Kanyenye kotsakatika / gondo roonekwa rakaruma nyamaPeople read guilt into a coincidence: when something disappears just as someone leaves, or a scavenger turns up with meat, suspicion falls automatically. Only proof of being elsewhere would clear the suspect.
• Kari pako ukonje / kanofunda nechirimoOn your own ground you can look after yourself, well enough even to eat your fill in the dry season. Being at home means being self-sufficient.
• Kashiri kamwe kanonaka kutodza mutoEven a single small bird is enough to give the gravy its taste. A little of something is all that is needed to make the whole worthwhile.
• Kashiri kapangami kanovaka dendere neminhenga yedzimwe shiriA cunning little bird lines its nest with feathers taken from other birds.
• Kashiri kashaya besu / hakanzi kanyanaA little bird with no tail is not for that reason to be called a nestling.
• Kashiri kasingapambari / hakanuniThe bird that never goes out plundering stays thin; you do not prosper without going after what you need.
• Katumba kausarara / usatanga wakatendaDo not sing the praises of a hut you have not yet spent a night in. Withhold your approval of something until you have actually tried it.
• Kauya-uya / kamusha kousakapindaA homestead you have never set foot in always looks the most attractive, because what you do not know seems best. Hold back your praise of a person or thing until you have had real dealings with them.
• Khamba haridzingirwi panyama. (M)A leopard is not driven off the meat it has caught.
• Kiti negonzo hazviiswi panzvimbo imwe cheteRat and cat — the two of them cannot be housed in one and the same place.
• Kubakisa mvuto / kunoda varidzi vadzoDetermination eventually carries a person to competence: even one who keeps failing at a task will master it in time if he refuses to stop trying.
• Kubata mwana wengwe / senga pfutiSomeone who takes on a task he knows to be dangerous and difficult goes into it already knowing how to handle it; great undertakings cannot be attempted without dependable means.
• Kubaya dura / hunge wakazvimbirwaBreaking open the grain store shows that you have already eaten your fill. Wasteful excess betrays someone who has had more than enough.
• Kubaya tanga nowako / vokunze vakutyeAnyone in a position of authority should discipline his own household and kin first, so that everyone can see the same rules bind them too.
• Kubaya tange hama / vatorwa vakutyeOutsiders come to fear a man who has begun by killing his own kin.
• Kubayira mweni mbudzi / kuti vomo mumba vadye zvavoSlaughtering a goat for a visitor means that the whole household eats as well; the hospitality shown to one person ends up feeding everyone at home.
• Kubayiwa ngetsotso / mangwana uchatuta. (M)The scratches you take from the thorns today are the price of the load you will carry home tomorrow; those mocked as they set out are admired when they return with something to show.
• Kubereka / misodzi yawandaWhere children are many, so are tears. A large household draws onto you the misfortunes of each of its members, and heaviest of all is grieving your own children one after another.
• Kubereka mwanasikana / kuchengeta mangavaRaising a daughter is laying up disputes for yourself: whatever she suffers in her husband's home, or after being sent away, comes back to torment her parents. Anyone with a daughter in the house should expect that one day a case concerning her will land on them.
• Kubika sadza / kuziva kuti muriwo uripoOne cooks the meal knowing that there is relish to go with it.
• Kubikira mweni / kumudzingaOnce you have put food on the fire for a guest, you have in effect told him to leave.
• Kubikira mweni / kunzwa neyakowo (nzara)The cook's own hunger goes into a visitor's meal: piling up food for a guest is also how a household sees that its own members eat.
• Kubira rwizi rwakazara / kuziva kusambiraOnly someone who can swim should attempt a river in flood. Do not take on a risky undertaking unless you have the skill it demands.
• Kubva kwehosi / inosiya imweIf the senior wife departs, there is always another left behind to fill her place.
• Kubva muupwere / kubva mudongoGrowing up is like walking away from an abandoned homestead: an adult has no wish to return to childish pursuits. He now sees them as worthless, things left behind in the ruins.
• Kubvongodza mvura / kuti iyerereDisturbing water that has settled is what gets it moving again.
• Kubvuma huvuvura.You can tell a person who doesn't accept defeat by their troubles.
• Kubvuma mhosva / handi kuripaAdmitting to an offence does not by itself settle the matter. The wrongdoer still owes compensation to soothe the feelings of the person he has wronged.
• Kubvuma rwendo kwomwana muduku / kubvuma nezviri mberiWhen a young child readily agrees to go on an errand, it is agreeing to what lies ahead for itself as well. People take on a commission far more willingly when they can attach some benefit of their own to it.
• Kubvuma rwendo kwomwana muduku / rwake ruri mukatiWhen a youngster agrees to go on an errand, he has an errand of his own folded into it. His willingness carries a private purpose alongside the one he was given.
• Kuchengeta chimbara (munya) hunzwana.
• Kuchengeta imbwa yomweni / kuda mwene wayoCaring for a dog that belongs to someone else is a sign of fondness for its owner.
• Kuda haro gonye kufamba nomusana / makumbo rinawoIt is better to let others do the praising than to blow one's own trumpet; some people advertise the smallest thing they manage, when others have quietly done far more.
• Kudada kwavari mugomo / kukumbira vari pasi mapfihwaFor people living up on the rocky hillside to beg hearth-stones from those down on the plain is sheer presumption.
• Kudada kwavari pasi / kukumbira vari mugomo mvuraFor the rich to come begging from the poor is arrogance, since it amounts to belittling and laughing at them for their poverty.
• Kude chinhu kureva / kunyarara hauchiwaniIt is better to name what you want so that others know, rather than eat your heart out in silence. Nobody can read your mind, but a spoken request can be met.
• Kudya chomuzvere / bata mwana wakeHandling the baby is what gets you fed in the home of a woman who has recently given birth.
• Kudya hakuna chiduku / chinokona munhu ihembeClothing that is too small is genuinely useless to the wearer, but food is never too small to eat. A grown person may complain about an ill-fitting garment, yet nobody has grounds to refuse food merely because the portion is small.
• Kudya, idya chebadza, kudya chemwana mangwana chinozokudyawo.
• Kudya imbwa ibva wadya riri gono.
• Kudya kakara / kanyama kanopakatira pamazinoEat even a small wild animal and a shred of its meat will lodge between your teeth; a beaten opponent still leaves his mark on the winner, and that mark keeps on irritating him.
• Kudya masanga / chikuru kuonanaThe food is only a side matter; what really counts is that people have come together and set eyes on one another.
• Kudya mombe / idya yebadza / kudya yomwana, mangwana inokudyawoLive off what your own labour has earned you; beast won by your hoe is safely yours, but the one that came as bridewealth for your daughter may have to be given back and will cost you later.
• Kudya nyemba navauya / dzinowana muzvimbiri wadzoEating beans in the company of good-hearted people leaves you stuffed to the point of discomfort. Generous company means you end up taking far more than you needed.
• Kudya nyemba navauya / dzouya dzozvimbira nhereraEven when you have thrown in your lot with others for a perfectly good purpose, one member of the group can still come to grief. Someone may overdo his part in a lawful undertaking and land himself in trouble.
• Kudye imbwa / chidye gonoWrongdoing and law-breaking are bad, but if someone is bold enough to offend anyway, let the offence be a substantial one. If you are going to eat dog, make it the big male.
• Kudyira sadza mundima / rimwe zuva uchadyiswa negudoEat your food out in the field on the sly, and one day it is a baboon that will be feeding you. Furtive helpings invite an unpleasant return in due course.
• Kudzimba hakunzi kwaviraThe hunt is not called off simply because the sun has set; the work of tracking and taking game does not stop at nightfall.
• Kudzinga imbwa / ikandire godo. (K)If constant begging from someone is wearing you down, hand over a little of what he asks so that he will stop coming back.
• Kudzinga imbwa yomuna / kudzinga tenzi wayo.Driving away a man's dog is the same as driving away the man himself. People often air their dislike of someone indirectly, by treating his belongings with contempt, and the owner reads it accordingly.
• Kudzinga tsuro dzinga nesvimbo mbiri / imwe ikapotsa imwe yorovaWhen you go after a hare, carry two throwing sticks, so that if the first one misses the second one strikes. Have a second option ready in case the first attempt fails.
• Kudzorera mumwe / kuisa musoro mumakwatiTo get back at someone, draw in your head as a tortoise does. However grave the insult or injury done to you, hold your hand rather than answer it yourself, and let the case go before those whose business it is to decide it. The offender, for his part, should keep his nerve until the minds of both men have settled.
• Kufa izuva rimwe / kuora igoreAn event may take only a moment, but its aftermath drags on for a very long time. A young man elopes in a single day, yet the recognition of the marriage takes weeks or months to settle.
• Kufa kwamambo / pfuma inodyiwa navarandaThe loss falls on the chief, yet it is his servants who end up consuming his wealth.
• Kufa kweane hari / anosiya mazondeHowever little someone owned, there is always some small thing left to be inherited once they die. How much it is worth, or how fine it is, does not enter into it.
• Kufa kwehanga / mazai anopararaWhen someone who supports a household dies, those who depended on him are left to suffer and the family itself tends to break apart. Children who lose a parent no longer receive the care they once had and may be split up among different households.
• Kufa kwehosi / inosiya imweWhen one who holds an office departs, another takes his place; a chief who dies leaves behind a son who rules as his father did.
• Kufa kwomurume / hubuda uraA man is only truly finished when his entrails are spilt. He should not collapse at every injury or shock, but hold on and fight for his life until circumstances leave him no choice.
• Kufa ndikamwe / kuora mazuva matatuDying happens only once, and the body rots within three days — the dreaded thing is over quickly.
• Kufamba kudzitsaka (nhamo) kugara kudziyetsa.A person cannot escape blame or misfortune.
• Kufamba kwadi-kwadi / unodokerwa womhanyaBeginning a job at a dawdling pace eats up your time, so that you end up scrambling to finish it. Better to go at it briskly from the outset and carry that through to the end, rather than having to make up for lost time later.
• Kufamba kwechirema huzvikwevaA person in a difficult situation strives to free themselves.
• Kufira gavhu kuuya / hazvienzani nokufira shambaIt is better to lose your life over something that genuinely matters than over something worthless.
• Kugadzwa umambo / kugwadamira midzimuHonour comes to the person who has mastered the work expected of them; standing has to be aimed at, then prepared and trained for. Being installed as chief follows from having honoured one's ancestral spirits.
• Kugara hunzwana.
• Kugara / hunzwana (navamwe)You can only be truly settled where you get on well with the people around you. Quarrelsome people are shunned, and nobody wants to live amid constant friction.
• Kugara mwina / kutevedza ungoguma. (M)No matter how comfortably a person is living, that comfort will one day run out, and then he finds himself suffering alongside everyone else.
• Kugara nhaka / kuona dzavamweYou only know how something is done because you have watched others do it first; most skill and knowledge comes from copying those who went before.
• Kugara padare kuziva nyaya / asingazivi anoonekwa nokuvhiya mbudziA place at the chief's court belongs to those who can follow and argue a case properly; whoever cannot reason is packed off to a menial chore such as skinning a goat, while the capable man is asked to stay and help decide.
• Kugarika / kurasa masero (maserwa)Someone who has a great deal can afford to pick and choose, keeping only the best and discarding the rest. Even a short spell of abundance makes a person behave as though the supply will never run out.
• Kugarika tange nhamo / rugare rugoteveraComfort is reached by a long and hard road: hardship comes first and ease afterwards. Anyone who wants to enjoy something must be ready to sweat for it, and present suffering may well give way to a settled life later.
• Kugarotamba nomuswe wavakuru / unoswera wasuwaMake a habit of toying with your elders' tail and sorrow is how your day will finish.
• Kugocha kunoda kwaamai / kwomwana kunodzima motoRoasting is best left to the mother; when the child tries it the fire only goes out.
• Kugocha kunoda kwomukoma / kwomunun'una kunodzima motoRoasting goes well when the elder brother does it; when the younger brother tries, the fire dies out. The task is left to the one with the standing to do it.
• Kugona mbavha / kuironzeraThe way to get the better of a thief is to lend him something.
• Kugovera zvidembo mumwena / mangwana unotakura ibwe.Dividing things up in secret, with nobody else present, ends in quarrelling and cheating later on. Deals made where no one can see them can always be denied afterwards.
• Kuhamba kufumira / kwamambo hakuna betoYou get somewhere by setting out early; no fee is collected at the chief's court for latecomers.
• Kuipa hakunonokiA bad name arrives in an instant: earning a good reputation takes long effort, while a single misdeed can destroy it at once.
• Kuita mapfumo ita maviri / kupotsa kwerimwe rimwe rinobayaIf you are going to carry spears, carry two: when one throw goes wide, the second finds its mark.
• Kuitai kwemudzimu / kunayisa mvura pasina audirira?What sort of behaviour is it for the ancestral spirit to send rain when nobody has made any request for it? The question challenges a favour granted where none was sought.
• Kukaka ngoma / kunoda dehwe nyoroTo mount a drum properly you need a hide that has been softened; the right job calls for the right material.
• Kukanya huranganaMixing the milk into the sadza is something others have to agree to; anything done among people, especially for the common good, should follow consultation.
• Kukoda / kukwenyaWhispering is still speaking: every word that leaves your mouth counts, gossip included. However carefully you pick your moment and your listener, you are still putting a message into circulation.
• Kukokwa kwasamusha / kukokwa kwavagere nayeInviting the head of a village amounts to inviting everyone who lives under him as well.
• Kukona kwechomunda / kutanha muriwo ukavavaWhen someone has done their work well but obstacles still block success, the failure is put down to heaven or to the ancestors below. There was nothing more the person could have done.
• Kukudza uchipa / kunobereka simbeFussing over something and handing it everything can be the very thing that ruins it. Children raised with every want supplied while they sit idle grow into lazy adults.
• Kukurukura hunge wapotswa.
• Kukwegura kunotanga meso mukariranoOld age announces itself first in the eyes, each one shifting the work to the other; likewise, what a person owns slips away a little at a time until, almost without his noticing, nothing is left.
• Kukwenya ari kuchoto / kuti ari kugotsi anzweScratching the person sitting by the fire is a way of getting at the one seated behind him. A jab aimed at one person is really meant for someone else.
• Kukwira gomo / kupotereraWhen you want something from a senior person, you put your request through others rather than going at it head-on. In the same way, a hard and vexing matter is better raised little by little than pushed to a quick conclusion.
• Kukwira gomo / kusenderekaGetting up a mountain is done by taking a winding, slanting route rather than going straight up.
• Kukwira inyore / kuburuka kudana maiDoing or saying something harmful costs almost nothing, but undoing it afterwards is beyond anyone's power. The damage stands, however loudly the person responsible cries for rescue.
• Kumamira munzira / kuziva kuti usikuA person who fouls a public path does so because he counts on the dark to hide him. Shameless acts in the open are done under the cover of night.
• Kumirira isavira / kumirira mhosvaWaiting on a pot that is not even coming to the boil only brings you trouble. Waiting for what shows no sign of happening is asking for grief.
• Kumutsa kambudzi kane maranga / wamutsa karuchemeraTaking up with a needy person means taking on endless requests: once roused, the wretched creature keeps crying for more. You end up giving away your own goods out of embarrassment.
• Kumuzinda hakuna wako.
• Kunaka hakudyiwi.
• Kunatsa hosha kuirapa
• Kune wako hakudi kunongedzwa negumboYou should not indicate a person of your own family with your foot.
• Kuneta kwomukuyi / sadza rinodyiwa navagereThose who did nothing but sit are the ones eating the meal; the tiredness belongs to whoever did the grinding.
• Kungotya nyanga dzezizi / nyamba manhengaWhat looks like horns on an owl is only feathers. People who do not know a figure of authority keep a nervous distance from him while those who live beside him joke freely with him, and dangers that loom large from afar often turn out not to exist once you get close.
• Kungwara / kukosha ngoyiBeing wise means twisting the cords for the carrying-bag first: the far-sighted person prepares in advance a place to keep whatever he is setting out to obtain.
• Kuno kudya / hakuna gomoNo hill is too steep when there is food at the end of the climb. The prospect of a good meal makes the journey seem easy.
• Kunofa kakuruwo / tsombo itsva isati yagaka musikaPeople frequently bring injury or death upon themselves through haste and rashness; instead of living on into old age, some die young simply because they take no care of their own lives. The image is of a hoe blade still new when it breaks.
• Kunonoka huvizhuraArriving late can work in your favour rather than against you. A host with beer and too large a crowd may hold it back until most have left, so those who turn up last drink more than those who came early.
• Kunyanya kusevesa sadza / unozogumisira wokatsa. (M)Draw on a store without restraint and it will fail you early — finished or ruined ahead of schedule — leaving you embarrassed, when it was supposed to stretch over time. Work your cattle past measure and, once they are dead, you are left with regret and nothing to plough with.
• Kunyanya kusevesa sadza / unozopedzisira wotemuraIf you use up your relish too quickly, you will finish your meal eating plain sadza with nothing to go with it. Immoderate use of what you have leaves you with nothing at the end.
• Kunyatsa kufamba / unovirirwa womhanyaSetting out at a leisurely pace means you end up running once the sun is going down. Time lost early has to be made up in a rush later.
• Kunyenga zvimvana ita zviviri / kuramba kwechimwe chimwe unosara nachoWhen courting young women who have already had a first child, court two of them, so that if one turns you down you are still left with the other.
• Kunyengerwa hakuna wachena / ndakanzi shwinya ruware ndikashwinyaNobody is too old or too experienced to be taken in; anyone, whatever their age, can be talked into doing something foolish. Grey hair is no defence against a trickster.
• Kunyengerwa hakuna wakura / ndakanzi swinya ruware ndikaswinyaNo one is too old or too seasoned to be taken in by a trick; the speaker confesses that when he was told to pinch a bare slab of rock, he went ahead and pinched it.
• Kunyima mufambi / kuzvipa shonheRefuse a traveller and the misfortune lands on you: fight or trade insults with someone passing by one day, and regret follows when you find yourself at his home asking for help.
• Kunyimwa nomunda / hazvienzani nokunyimwa nomunhuBeing denied by a field that yields poorly is a very different matter from being refused by a fellow human being.
• Kunzi mukadzi ari apa / kunatsa munyuFor a woman to be spoken of as a real wife of the household, she has to know how to salt and season the relish properly.
• Kunzi pakata / handi kunzi ridzaTo hold a drum is what you were asked for; sounding it was never part of the request.
• Kuombera / kukumbira zvichauya mangwanaReceive a gift with visible gratitude, because thanks given today are really a request for the giver to be generous again tomorrow.
• Kuona chembere yodzinga shiri / zviyo zvaibvaIf you see an old woman out scaring birds off, you know the grain has ripened — the visible act tells you the underlying situation. Likewise, when parents stop welcoming young men around the homestead, it shows their daughter has reached marriageable age.
• Kuona imbwa yodya matehwe / inenge yashaya wokuvhima nayeA dog that takes to chewing hides has no one to hunt with; likewise a child slides into bad habits when no adult bothers to train him, and idle people drift into worthless behaviour.
• Kuona mukombe kunaka kunze / izvo mukati mune marovhuA ladle may look clean on the outside while the pith inside it is rotting. What appears sound on the surface can be decayed within.
• Kuona roro kutsvuka kunze / nyamba mukati makadyiwa namakonyeA roro fruit can look ripe and red on the outside while maggots have already eaten away the inside. A fine surface tells you nothing about what lies beneath.
• Kuonera mum we hwedza anokuonerawo.
• Kuorora ngoko / kuindira mudzivaStopping a black beetle from meddling with your excreta means you end up relieving yourself into a pool.
• Kupa huwanaYou 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.
• Kupa kunotanga / kunyima kwozoteveraGiving comes first and withholding comes afterwards: a person who starts out open-handed is worn down by the greed and ingratitude of those he helps, and in the end turns mean.
• Kupa mukadzi banga / kuzvikohwera rufuAccording to the source, women can be quick to anger and act on impulse, and they often regret afterwards what they did in the heat of the moment. The lesson drawn is that dangerous implements should be kept out of their reach.
• Kupa mweni / kuchengetera mbuva mberiHelping others, strangers included, is like laying up food for your own journey ahead. Those you have assisted will come to your aid when you are in want.
• Kupa wenzira wachengetera mbuva mberi.
• Kupedza nyota / kuenda padzivaWhoever would put an end to thirst makes his way to the pool.
• Kupedza nyota / patsimeTo settle an argument or a doubt, take the question to someone who really knows the matter. The one who knows is the well you drink from.
• Kupfuma hakumhanyirirwiWealth is not something you can hurry into; it comes slowly.
• Kupfuma ifundira. (M)Wealth comes from sweat. Nobody grows rich except by labouring hard for it.
• Kupfuma ishungu.
• Kupfuma ishungu / unorara musoro uri panze (pegumbeze)Growing wealthy takes fierce determination — you end up sleeping with your head sticking out from under the blanket.
• Kupfuura nomuchinanga / hugonda neshanguGetting through thick bush depends on having shoes to rely on.
• Kupotsa kwegodzi / rinokumba mararaWhen the hawk misses its prey it snatches up rubbish instead. Someone who searches determinedly never comes away completely empty-handed; if he cannot get what he wanted, he still gets something small.
• Kuramba butu / uno mukonyaA person who turns up his nose at bran is being made haughty by something finer that he already has.
• Kuramba kwechemunda kukusha gaka rikavava.
• Kuramba nyama yechidembo / hunge uine yetsuroTurning down polecat meat shows that you already have hare meat put by.
• Kuramba rutsakara / hunge uine maziviroRejecting a worn, tattered thing is a sign that you already possess something of better quality.
• Kurambana kwevane misoro mumba / vanozoguma vatsikidzana vanzeEven people who are very close sometimes fall out and trade harsh words, while those who begin by fighting may end up as friends. Parents who separate but have children between them will keep on calling on each other.
• Kurarama kwehamba / kusangana nasheFor a tortoise, running into a chief amounts to a fresh lease on life.
• Kurarama kwehamba / kusangana nousina demoThe tortoise stays alive by running into someone who has no axe. Likewise a person in hostile country survives by happening upon someone who has no interest in him, and counts it as the work of his ancestors.
• Kurava mbudzi nedzisipo / kurava nedzava matooTo count goats that are not there is to count even the ones that have died. Tallying what you no longer have inflates the figure with things already lost.
• Kurayira kunoda pwere / mukuru ndimamboCorrection only works on the young; a grown person is a law unto himself and cannot be made to listen if he was never disciplined as a child.
• Kure kwameso / nzeve dzinonzwaThings that happen in a far-off place may be out of sight, but word of them still travels and reaches you eventually.
• Kure kwegava / ndokusina mutsubvuA jackal reckons a place far off only when there is no mutsubvu fruit tree growing there.
• Kure ndokuna amai / kune mukadzi unofa wasvikaThe journey to your mother is the one that feels far; to reach your wife you will press on even at the risk of dying.
• Kure ndokusina / kwachiri unofa wasvikaA place is only far off when nothing awaits you there; where something you want is waiting, you will get there however long it takes.
• Kureba muromo / unofa nechokuzivaA person's own wrongdoing turns back on him and can reap death for him. Repeated evil deeds are in the end what destroy the one who commits them.
• Kurebesa muromo unodya chedemo / chebanga hauchiwaniTalk too loudly and too much and the only food you will get is what was hacked off with an axe, never what was cut with a knife.
• Kurebesa muromo unodya chomwedzi / cherima hauchiwani.An axe is noisy and cannot be used in secret, whereas a knife cuts silently and no one knows unless told. In the same way, a person who cannot hold his tongue is only ever included in what is done openly, never in private dealings.
• Kurera imbwa nomukaka / mangwana inofuma yokurumaRaise a dog on milk and the very next morning it will turn and bite you. Kindness shown to someone in difficulty can come back on you once that person turns against you.
• Kurera imbwa rera inoruma / igokudzivirira mupfumvuWhat the crowd disapproves of may turn out to be exactly what rescues you, so do not throw away a thing or a person who might serve you later. Be ready for every eventuality.
• Kurera nherera / mangwana anofuma okupindukiraBring up an orphan and one day that same child may round on you.
• Kurerera nhiriri mumurara / mangwana inofuma yoruma hukuRaise a wild cat in the grass and before long it will be killing your chickens. What you nurture may turn on you later.
• Kureva chikwereti kumurombo / kunema MwariDemanding repayment from a man who has nothing is as good as showing contempt for God.
• Kureva donga / rimwe riripo rinonyumwaRun down one muTonga while another is present and the one listening will grow wary and uneasy. Criticism of one member of a group is felt by the others.
• Kureva munhu / tanga wakwira churuIf you are going to talk about somebody, first get up on an ant-hill and look around to see who is within earshot.
• Kureva wokumamana. mumwe aripo anonyumwa.
• Kurezva mwana / kureva babaSomeone with a grievance against an elder may scold a child within the elder's hearing, so that the elder picks up that the rebuke is really meant for him.
• Kurima makombo mana / kushaya manetswaGetting a large job done well and on time is a sign that nothing came along to disturb the worker. Smooth results point to an untroubled run rather than to luck.
• Kurima mazvuru mana / hunge usina chawaonaGetting through four ant-hills in the field shows that nothing came up to interrupt you.
• Kurinda, kurinda dziva / kurinda tsime rinopwaA pool rewards the one who watches it; a well will go dry whether or not it is watched. Food and wealth are not things to lean on — what a person ought to keep safe is his life, or whatever sustains that life over a long stretch of time.
• Kuroora mukadzi roora muroyi / unofuma wowana chinokurwisira dakaIf you are going to take a wife, take a witch: you then have someone who will take up your quarrels and fight a grudge on your behalf.
• Kuroorera mbuya ngarara wapinza udyi mumba.
• Kuroorera mukarabwe muchena / waisa udyi mumbaTake a wife from poor parents and you have taken on extra mouths to feed.
• Kurova mbira / kurova bakoLearn the routes that lead to what you want; often you reach a goal by going through someone else rather than at it directly.
• Kurova werwendo / kuzvikohwera mapfumo mberiStriking a passing traveller is the same as stockpiling spears that will one day be turned against you. Harm done to a stranger stores up retaliation for the future.
• Kurumwa netsikidzi rambira mumba / chitete chinopinza mune chikobvuQuarrels within a household should be settled by the household itself; taking them outside turns a small irritation into a rift that can break the family apart.
• Kurwa kurwa, hazvienzani nokujojodorana
• Kurwara kwomuranda / anorwara akatakura bondeA poor man cannot predict when trouble will strike, so he stays ready for it at any moment, knowing that nobody else will come to his aid if he does not look after himself.
• Kusakara kwechari / kunotanga masaA shawl does not wear through in the middle first; the fraying starts at its fringed edges.
• Kusakura hakuna benziIn weeding no one counts as a fool; however odd a person's way of doing things may look, he should be left alone so long as he troubles nobody else.
• Kusandudza ugaro / kwakapa muranda ndoroWhen one attempt fails, do not lose heart but try a different way; changing one's approach or surroundings is what brings many people their success.
• Kusaziva / mumvuri worufuSomeone who is ignorant is no better off than a dead person; not knowing even plain, ordinary things is a kind of death.
• Kuseka tezvara / kuseka wabvisa pfumaOnly once the bride price has been handed over can a man make fun of his father-in-law. Where you want help from somebody, bring him round to your side beforehand by doing what pleases him.
• Kusesedza kuhamba / kutamanda hakupedzi nyikaIt is worth helping someone who is learning to walk, because crawling will never take them very far.
• Kusesedza mwana wenherera / kumubereka kumusanaSteering an orphan means taking him on your back. Whatever belongs to another has to be looked after with your whole heart before onlookers will agree that you are treating it properly. Hand a man his eggs to carry: thanks come to the carrier only where every one of them arrives unbroken.
• Kushaya hakunenerwi munhu / denga rataramaNo one can be held at fault for a poor harvest when the sky has withheld its rain. Someone who genuinely tried but was defeated by circumstances outside his control should not be scolded or called lazy.
• Kushaya kunokunyimisa nowaunenge uchidaPoverty forces you to withhold even from the person you are fond of.
• Kushaya kwemuvhimi anotsvaga uta muchirongo.
• Kushaya mano kwendiro / kupakurirwa isingadyiA plate has no sense at all: food is dished onto it and it never eats any of it.
• Kushaya mano kwomusikana / kukungira sadza chibhakiraA girl shows her lack of sense when she shakes her fist at sadza, scorning the very food set before her.
• Kushaya mbereko / ishamhu inorova asingadonhedze misodziChildlessness is a lash that draws no tears: the childless person has no one to cry to and simply broods inwardly over the affliction, often taking it for a punishment sent by God.
• Kusiri kwako / masangoAnywhere that is not your own place is wild bush to you. In unfamiliar surroundings even a very clever person feels lost, because no one can learn a new place in the short time just after arriving.
• Kusvora mago / hunge uchitenza chakoAnyone who treats wasps with contempt must be sure of his own strength. Do not provoke something dangerous unless you are confident you can handle it.
• Kutakunya jedye / kuti riyambukeA frog gets across because someone flicks it away.
• Kutamba nesanhu / kutemera nyoka ruzhowaCutting a fence for a snake is nothing but idle play with an axe. To throw yourself into something that can bring you no benefit is folly.
• Kutamba ngoma / igumwe.Anything, festivities included, succeeds through people working together, with the burden falling on one household today and on another tomorrow. Those who share in a celebration are expected to host one in their turn.
• Kutambarara huona mbuto.
• Kutanda imbwa yomukuwasha / kudzinga muridzi wayoChasing off a son-in-law's dog amounts to chasing off the son-in-law himself. An insult to what belongs to a person is an insult to the person.
• Kutaura kudzikisira / kuita makata. (M)Speaking comes as easily as walking downhill, while actually doing the thing is like climbing a steep slope.
• Kutaura kweabata / kuti gumbo rendongwe haripedzi musuvaOnly the person who has made the catch can afford to say that an insect's leg is too little to make up a mouthful. It is easy to belittle a small portion when you are the one holding plenty.
• Kutaura kwowadye ganda / kunokunda wadya mushunaThe person who got only the skin talks it up far more loudly than the one who was given the good meat. A modest portion is often praised more enthusiastically than a far better one.
• Kuteerera mombe nhore / kunofa ino muchitiWhile attention is lavished on the ailing old cow, it is the healthy one that dies.
• Kutenda cherima / kutenda wauya nachoWhere a gift comes out of the dark, the thanks belong to whoever carried it to you.
• Kutsenga muriwo / hudzidzisanaHow to take relish is something people teach one another. There being the one helping of sadza and the one of relish, keep your attention off the relish; clear it before the sadza is gone and the others will hold it against you, for sadza on its own is poor eating.
• Kutsukura imbwa nomukaka, mangwana inodzoka yokumma.Often, the person you raise, help, or remove from problems is the one who will turn against you later. This proverb is similar to, 'If you raise a weasel with milk, it will wake up and finish off your chickens.' Often the person you raise or help or remove from difficulties.
• Kutsvaga kwowarasikirwa / kutsvaga uta nomudzivaOne who has lost something dear to him searches for it frantically everywhere, even in places where he knows perfectly well it cannot be — like hunting for a bow in a pool.
• Kutuka chembere / kutuka une nhekwe yefodyaYou can only take on an old woman if you come holding a snuff gourd — that is, you need something appealing in hand before a person will engage with you. Anyone wanting to draw another's interest behaves in ways designed to attract attention, as a girl does with a boy who is ignoring her.
• Kutuka wemuzinda / hunge uine maziviroAnyone bold enough to insult a member of the chief's household must be confident of their ability to protect themselves. Such daring implies you have something to fall back on.
• Kutuka werwendo / kuzvisosera nzira ngeminzwa. (M)Berating someone who is on a journey amounts to strewing your own road with thorns.
• Kutukana nomuroyi / hunge muchizivanaExchanging insults with a witch shows the two of you are already well acquainted. Such a quarrel only arises between people who know each other.
• Kutuma pwere / kuzvitumaSending a small child on an errand amounts to sending yourself, since the job still ends up in your own hands.
• Kutumira kwakashayisa mbira musweThe rock rabbit ended up without a tail because it asked someone else to go and fetch one for it.
• Kuturika denga remba / kubatiranaCertain jobs simply cannot be done by one person alone; they call for people to pool their efforts. Roofing a hut is one such task that only gets finished when hands join.
• Kutya kukotama / gunguo rakatya, mapapata aro mashomaTo be afraid is to duck down; the crow took fright, and that is why so few of its remains are ever found.
• Kuudza mwana / hupedzisiraInstructing a child means spelling things out to the very end and checking that he has grasped it. Children take time to absorb what is required of them, whether on an errand or in life generally.
• Kuudza mwana washamwari kurovera mwoyo kumuti.
• Kuuya pamba kwomusvitsa / hunge abvisirwa chuma.Beads change hands first, and only then is a bride escorted to her new home. The invitation has to come before the eating: rather than linger at someone else's homestead hoping for a share of the food, a person with self-respect stays away until he is asked.
• Kuvaka zvitumba vaka zviviri / chimwe kutsva unodzamba nechimweIt pays to have a second option, since if one thing fails the other still serves you. A prudent person prepares more than one plan so that a setback in the first leaves something to fall back on.
• Kuvaraidza zuva / kuteya nzou nerivaTrapping an elephant with a stone trap is merely a way of passing the day — effort so mismatched to the task that it achieves nothing.
• Kuve ganda / hakuve nyamaTo be the hide is not the same as being actual meat.
• Kuve ganda / handi kuve nyamaSkin is one thing, flesh another. A woman married to the chief has not thereby become chief: let a relative of hers be brought before the court on a charge, and she has no power to free him.
• Kuvengana hakupi chiro / nyama inodyiwa yaswera pachotoNothing is gained by hating one another; meat is only eaten once it has spent the whole day over the fire.
• Kuvengana hakupi nyaya / nyama inodyiwa yaswera pachotoWhere people are set against each other, nothing is built: ill-feeling blocks them from understanding one another and blocks the community from getting ahead. Calm and unity come only when people hold their tempers and give a quarrel as long as it takes to be talked out honestly, even if that swallows a whole day.
• Kuverenga mombe nedzisipo / kuverenga nemiswe (M)Counting cattle you cannot see is only counting tails. Do not place your trust in something whose state you are no longer sure of.
• Kuwana imbwa kwavadiki vanodzisunga miswe, hunzi kudzisunga muhuro dzinofa.
• Kuwana ndimbuya
• Kuwanda huuya / chakaipa kupedzerana usaviBeing many is a good thing, except at mealtime, when a crowd finishes off the relish.
• Kuwanda huuya / kwakatorambwa nomuroyiHaving many relatives and acquaintances gives you real protection when trouble comes, since close kin and true friends will even lay down their lives for you. A large circle of people around you is the surest safeguard one can have.
• Kuwanda huuya / mota yokumusana ungotumburwa. (M)There is an advantage in numbers: with others around, the boil on your back that you cannot reach yourself can be lanced for you.
• Kuwanda huuya / museve wakapotera pamuzukuruNumbers are a good thing: it was on the grandson that the arrow, shot by an enemy, came to rest.
• Kuwanda kuwanda zvose.
• Kuwanikwa igwara / vasikana vose vanofamba naroMarriage is a road every girl travels: since each one knows she will marry in time, she needs to learn the ways of married life and the work of a home.
• Kuyarutsa mwamuna / kupinza mapfumo mumba. (M)Raising a son to manhood is like carrying spears into the house: as he grows he gets into scrapes and quarrels that can draw hostility onto his parents.
• Kuzamura chaiko ndokwomudoko / kwomukuru kunorevaA small child's yawn may carry no message at all, but when a grown person yawns it is a roundabout way of asking for something. Children ask outright; adults hint.
• Kuzengurira izwi romukuru / kuramba mhangwaBrushing aside what an elder tells you amounts to turning down counsel that might have helped you. At the very least, a warning from an elder deserves to be weighed.
• Kuziva benzi / hunge waswera naroYou only recognise a fool after passing a whole day in his company. A person's character is known only once you have spent real time together.
• Kuziva gona romumwe / hunge unarowoIf you know about another person's medicine horn, it is a sign that you keep one yourself. Familiarity with someone's secret practice suggests you share in it.
• Kuziva mbuya / huudzwaNobody comes by knowledge on their own; you learn because those who already know tell you and teach you. All good sense reaches a person through other people.
• Kuzvara hakuna hombarumeBearing children calls for no special skill: even upright, well-regarded parents can produce offspring who grow up to be thieves and wastrels.
• Kuzvara ndume / kuzvara hadziEvery son a family raises will one day marry and bring a wife into his father's home, so a household with many sons acquires many daughters-in-law. A girl, on marrying, joins her husband's family as its daughter-in-law.
• Kwadzinorohwa matumburira / ndiko kwadzinomhanyiraPeople are drawn again and again to what harms them, staying with those who mistreat them or persisting in habits they know are damaging. The very place of danger is the place they run back to.