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Yoruba proverbs (Òwe) and what they mean

“Òwe lẹṣin ọ̀rọ̀”: proverbs are the horses of speech. In Abeokuta Life you finish one every day in the 🦉 Òwe of the Day app.

Òwe	Meaning
Igi kan kì í dágbó ṣe	One tree does not make a forest. We need each other.
Àjèjé ọwọ́ kan kò gbẹ́ ẹrù dórí	One hand cannot lift a load onto the head. Teamwork wins.
Ọwọ́ ọmọdé kò tó pẹpẹ, tàgbàlagbà kò wọ akèrèngbè	The child cannot reach the high shelf, the elder’s hand cannot enter the gourd. Young and old need each other.
Ẹni tí ó bá fẹ́ jẹ oyin inú àpáta kò ní wo ẹnu àáké	Whoever wants the honey in the rock won’t mind the axe’s edge. Great rewards need effort.
Ilé la ti ń kẹ́ ẹ̀ṣọ́ ròde	Good character starts at home before you take it outside.
Ọ̀nà kan kò wọ ọjà	Not just one road leads to the market. There is more than one way to do it.
Ìgbà kan ń lọ, ìgbà kan ń bọ̀	One season goes, another comes. Hard times don’t last forever.
Ọmọ tí a kò kọ́ ni yóò gbé ilé tí a kọ́ tà	The child we fail to train will sell the house we built.
Sùúrù ni baba ìwà	Patience is the father of good character.
Ẹyin lọ̀rọ̀, bí ó bá balẹ̀ fífọ́ ni	Words are like eggs: once dropped, they break. Mind what you say.
Ìka ọwọ́ kò dọ́gba	The fingers of the hand are not equal. People have different gifts.
Ojú lalákàn fi ń ṣọ́rí	The crab guards its head with its eyes. Be watchful.
Bí ọmọdé bá ṣubú, a wo iwájú; bí àgbà bá ṣubú, a wo ẹ̀yìn	When a child falls he looks ahead; an elder looks back to learn what tripped him.
Ẹni tí kò mọ ibi tí ó ti wá kò lè mọ ibi tí ó ń lọ	Whoever does not know where they came from cannot know where they are going.
Kò sí ohun tí ó ní ìbẹ̀rẹ̀ tí kò ní òpin	Nothing that has a beginning lacks an end.
Àgbà kì í wà lọ́jà, kí orí ọmọ títún wọ́	An elder cannot be in the market and let a baby’s head hang crooked on its mother’s back. Elders must set things right.

One try a day: ₦2,500 game money if you’re right, and ₦10,000 for 7 days in a row.

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