Tsumo starting with T

Shona Proverbs

• Takabva noko / kumhunga hakuna ipwaEveryone who is now grown was once a child and did childish things, so no one can tell them anything new about childhood — we have come from that field and know there is no sugar cane among the millet.
• Tamba nezvimwe / moto ndimashonongoreFind other things to play with; fire ruins. Whatever can injure you, whatever carries danger, is not a thing to joke with, and anything hazardous calls for the greatest care in handling.
• Tambe-tambe / vanoda varivoWhere fairness is called for, the elders insist on handling the matter themselves.
• Taramukai / panotamba deraMake room where a coward is dancing — the timid one puts on a big show once given space.
• Tauchira madziva matsime achapwa.
• Tenda chaunacho / chesango hachisiri chakoBe thankful for what is already in your hands; whatever is still out in the bush does not belong to you.
• Tenda dzose pwere / hapana asiri munhuTake all the children as they come, for every one of them is a person. None of them should be dismissed or thought less of.
• Tenda muchero wadya zvinogadza mwoyo.Only give your approval to something once you have tasted it and seen the result for yourself.
• Tenda muchero wadya zvinotenza mwoyoOffer your thanks for the fruit once you have eaten your fill of it.
• Tenda nyakusvitsa / mupi haaipotseraGive your thanks to the one who actually brought the gift to you, since the giver could not have thrown it across to you himself. The person who carries something through deserves recognition too.
• Tenda waipiwa / pfuma yomukuwasha wenzenzaWhere the son-in-law is a dishonest one, let your trust wait until the lobola has reached your hands.
• Tenda wamira / musha unovakwa ngemhutsi. (M)Wait until the reckless man's home is standing, then believe him. Guard against placing confidence in the unreliable: their promises guarantee nothing, since some people like to please others with promising words and then never do the thing promised. What such a man actually does is the only basis on which to trust him.
• Tendai / muchero ugowisaShow thanks to the tree and it will drop more fruit for you. Gratitude is what keeps the giving coming.
• Totenda dzanwa / mombe dzaswera nebenziWith a fool herding the cattle, we will only be satisfied once the animals have actually drunk. Accept the result when it is in hand, not on the strength of who was supposed to deliver it.
• Totenda maruva / tadya chakataWe only put our trust in the blossom once we have eaten the chakata fruit it promised.
• Totenda nyemba / tanwira mvuraThe thanks for a dish of beans come once it has been eaten and washed down with water — that is, gratitude waits until the thing is finished.
• Totenda yabikwa / imba yepwereA young couple earns your trust only once they are actually keeping house properly.
• Totenda yavira / tsambakodzi yedemheWe will believe it once the pot has actually come to the boil — the pot in question being made from a broken gourd.
• Tsapata rukukwe / hazvienzani nokuvata pasiEven a tattered sleeping mat is preferable to lying on the bare ground.
• Tsenzi inogara yadziyaThe honey-guide only settles down once it has had its fill. Contentment comes before rest.
• Tsenzi inogara yatema.
• Tsenzi inogara yatema / muranda gara wasvika dzimbabweJust as the honey-guide only settles once it has finished leading the way, a servant should not rest until he has reached the chief's place. On arriving somewhere you first honour the elders — greeting them, clapping, offering your hands at the court — and only then are you received and made comfortable.
• Tsoro-ndamba / inotangwa ngewayo. (M)The one who opens the game sets its terms: people treat others well or badly according to how they have first been treated themselves.
• Tsotsonyo akazvara tiwuA small poke or slight can bring a heavy retaliation; the person you needle lightly may hit back hard. Better to avoid wronging someone even in a minor way.
• Tsuri itsva ingozvimbisa muromo.
• Tsuri itsva inozvimbisa muromoA newly made reed whistle is blown so eagerly that it swells the lips. People throw themselves at whatever is new and in vogue, then drop it the moment the novelty wears off.
• Tsuro haiponi rutsva kaviriA hare does not come through a bush fire unharmed a second time.
• Tsuro inozvifudza yogaEach person has to look out for themselves and provide for their own needs. This weighs most heavily on someone poor or orphaned who has no relatives to lean on.
• Tsuro iri pauzamba / inosunungurwa neakaibataCare is what anything risky or tricky demands of whoever takes it on.
• Tsuro kupeta nzeve kumbwa seisinganzwi / ziso riri kuvanaEars folded towards the dogs as though nothing reached them, the hare keeps its eye on its young.
• Tsuro {nherera) ina mukumbo wayo usaiseka.
• Tsuro pfupi / haitemi uswa hurefuTall grass is past the reach of a short hare. Each person has some things within their range and many that are not, so stick to what you know you can handle rather than taking on what your strength or skill will not cover.
• Tsvaga zano iwe une rakowoGo looking for someone else's advice only once you already have an idea of your own.
• Tsvimborume chenga urarami / hama dzife ugogara nhakaAn unmarried man should look after himself and aim for a long life, since outliving his kin may leave him heir to what they leave behind — a wife included.
• Tsvimborume haina mugoni / inotuka waipa maseseA person in real need is often the hardest to please: instead of thanking whoever helps him, he belittles his helper.
• Tsvimborume kutandara nemvana / mwoyo uri kumhandara.However much someone busies himself with other company or concerns, the thing he truly loves stays at the front of his mind. The bachelor's attention may rest on the mvana, but his longing lies elsewhere.
• Tsvimborume kutenga duri / kuona mashoko kunakaA mortar bought by an unmarried man tells you his love affairs are going well.
• Tswanda huru / haitori chomuridziA large measuring container is no cause for alarm: nobody is obliged to fill it, and each person puts in only as much as has been agreed on or as much as they can manage.
• Twemudenhe tune ushorwi.Having only a scant amount left in the storage bin earns one scorn. As with the childless person of the parent saying, the one who lacks has no one to complain to and carries a constant private torment over the deficiency.