Kiswahili, which is widely spoken here in Kenya, is a fantastic and colorful language. It’s also been tough for me to learn…yesterday morning I mixed up the words for “mud” and “plantain,” and I thoroughly confused Philomen. I’m pretty sure we almost ended up with a side dish of dirt for breakfast.Anyway, Kiswahili sayings are particularly entertaining…here are some of the best (at least according to me, Audrey, and the rest of her Swahili language class):
Siku ya kufa nyani miti yote huteleza.
The day a monkey is destined to die, all the trees get slippery.
Simba mwenda kimya ndiye mla nyama.
A quiet lion is the one that catches the prey.
Mbuzi wa masikini hazai.
A poor man's goat doesn't bear kids.
Nyani haoni kundule.
A baboon doesn’t see his own backside, he only sees that of other baboons.
Fadhila ya punda ni mateke.
The gratitude of a donkey is a kick.
Majumba makubwa husitiri mambo.
Big houses conceal a lot.
Akipenda chongo huita kengeza.
A person in love with a one-eyed person calls him "cross-eyed."
Kitanda usicho kilala hujui kunguni wake.
You can't know the bugs of a bed that you haven't lay on.
Maji ya kifufu ni bahari ya chungu.
Water in a coconut shell is like an ocean to an ant.
Chime in if you’ve got other great ones to add to the list!
Posts
5 comments:
I like "big houses conceal a lot" -- that one is probably true the world over.
I like the baboon and donkey ones. They certainly apply to me.
Ume chelewa chelewa utafuta watoto si wako - If you are always late you will find that your children are not your own
-Jaime
from our Malawi peacecorp visitor:
Remember: two fingers cannot fit up one nostril
One banana; Two banana: blue monkey fall out of tree.
Andy, I thought I noticed you staring at my behind a lot...
Post a Comment