Ethiopian Proverbs

“When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.”

"Give advice; if people don't listen, let adversity teach them.”

"He who conceals his disease can not expect to be cured.”

“What one hopes for is always better than what one has.”

“The fool is thirsty in the midst of water.”

"Evil enters like a needle and spreads like an oak tree.”

“One who recovers from sickness soon forgets about God.”

"It is easy to become a monk in one's old age.”

“She who does not yet know how to walk cannot climb a ladder.”

"The eye of the leopard is on the goat, and the eye of the goat is on the leaf."

"Little by little an egg wil walk."

"Don't catch a leopard by the tail, but if you do, don't let it go."

"Don't spend the evening in a house where you can't spend the night."

"A good name is better than good perfume."

"After the hyena has gone, the dog barks."

"Fifty lemons are a load for one person, but for fifty persons they are perfume."

"He who knows much does not speak much."

"Pride is no substitute for a dinner."

"A house can't be built for the rainy season that is past."

"One who tries to hide with a dog, a child, a goat, or a person with a cold, will not remain hidden."

"The person who grew up without correction will find his mouth slipping instead of his foot."

"The slimming of an elephant and the losses of a rich man are not noticeable."

"A bird hanging between two branches will get bitten on both wings."

"The first camel in the train holds everyone up, but it is the last which gets the beating."

"It is better to be the cub of a live jackal than of a dead lion."

"A mouse that wants to die goes to sniff the cat's nose."

"Thorns prick lightly the man who walks slowly."

"Dine with a stranger, but save your love for your family."

"A too modest man goes hungry."

"If you offend, ask for pardon; if offended, forgive."

"A fool and water will go the way they are diverted."

"Where there is no shame, there is no honor."

"A silly daughter teaches her mother how to bear children."

"Anticipate the good so that you may enjoy it."

"Living is worthless for one without a home."

"He who wants to barter usually knows what is best for himself."

"When they fooled the chicken they threw her into a carrying basket."

"Saying that it's for her child, she gets herself a loaf of bread."

"What has been blown away, cannot be found."

"Even over cold pudding, the coward says: "It will burn my mouth."

"If the heart is sad tears will flow."

"Unless you call out, who will open the door?"

"There is no one who became rich because he broke a holiday, and no one who gained weight because he broke a fast."

"When the heart overflows, it comes out through the mouth."

"A partner in the business will not put an obstacle to it."

"He who digs too deep for a fish, may come out with a serpent."

"Confiding a secret to an unworthy person is like carrying a grain in a bag with a hole in it."

"A loose tooth will not rest until it is pulled out."

"A blade won't cut another blade; a cheat won't cheat another cheat."

"The dog I bought, bit me; the fire I kindled, burned me."

"If relatives help each other, what evil can hurt them?"