10 More African Proverbs That Still Make Sense Today

If you enjoyed our first collection of African proverbs, there are plenty more that deserve a place in today’s world. Read Part 1: African Proverbs That Still Hit Home Today⁠.

Some of these sayings have been passed down for generations, but the funny thing about good advice is that it does not really expire. We may be living with smartphones, working remote jobs, raising children across cultures and dealing with problems our grandparents never imagined, but people are still trying to figure out money, relationships, family, ambition and how to live a good life.

Here are 10 more African proverbs that still make plenty of sense today.

A Fool Speaks, A Wise Person Listens

We live in a time when everyone has something to say, and social media has made it easier than ever to say it loudly and immediately. Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is not respond to every opinion, every argument or every piece of drama that lands in front of you.

Listening does not mean you are weak or that you have nothing to contribute. Sometimes you learn more by paying attention, asking questions and letting someone finish before deciding what you think.

When An Old Man Dies, A Library Is Burned With Him

There is something we lose when older generations leave without passing down what they know. Family stories, recipes, languages, experiences, traditions and lessons about life can disappear when nobody takes the time to ask questions or listen.

For those of us living away from home, this can be especially important because our children may not grow up around grandparents, aunties, uncles and older relatives every day. Pick up the phone, ask about the family history and let the older people in your life tell you what they remember while you still have the chance.

The Child Who Asks Questions Does Not Lose The Way

Nobody knows everything, even though the internet has somehow convinced us that everyone has an answer for everything. Asking questions can save you from making expensive mistakes, whether you are starting a business, changing careers, managing your money or trying to understand something you were never taught growing up.

There is also nothing embarrassing about saying, “I don’t know.” Sometimes the person who is willing to ask for help is the one who ends up learning the most.

A Little By Little Fills The Pot

Big goals can look intimidating when you focus only on the final result. Saving money, paying off debt, building a business, learning a new skill or improving your health can take much longer than you expect, but small steps still count.

You do not have to transform your entire life in one month. Putting away a little money regularly, learning something new each week or making one better decision at a time can eventually add up to something much bigger.

He Who Is Not Taught By His Mother Will Be Taught By The World

There are lessons parents and older relatives try to teach us that we sometimes ignore because, well, we think we know better. Then life has a way of teaching the exact same lesson, except the tuition can be much more expensive.

That does not mean everything our parents told us was automatically right, because every generation has its own ideas and mistakes. It does mean there is value in listening to people who have already experienced some of the things we are just beginning to face.

A River That Forgets Its Source Will Soon Dry Up

Success can make it easy to forget where you started. You move away, build a career, buy a home, meet new people and create a completely different life, but that does not erase the people, places and experiences that helped shape you.

For Africans living abroad, this can take on another meaning. You can build a life somewhere else without pretending that where you came from no longer matters. Staying connected to your roots does not mean refusing to change; it simply means remembering the journey that brought you here.

If You Want To Know The End, Look At The Beginning

Sometimes we spend a lot of time trying to fix a problem after ignoring the signs that were there from the beginning. The same thing can happen with money, relationships, businesses and careers.

If your spending has been getting out of control for months, if a relationship has been struggling for years or if your business keeps losing money, the solution may involve going back and looking at what started the problem in the first place. Understanding the beginning can make the next step much clearer.

The One Who Asks For Directions Does Not Get Lost

There is a strange pressure to have everything figured out, especially as an adult. We are expected to know what career we want, how to manage money, how to raise children, how to build relationships and how to make all the right decisions, often while pretending we are completely fine.

But asking someone who knows more than you can save you a lot of time and frustration. A mentor, friend, parent, colleague or professional may see something you cannot see because they have already been where you are trying to go.

A House Is Built By Many Hands

Nobody builds a meaningful life completely alone. Behind most successful people are parents, friends, partners, mentors, colleagues, teachers and other people who offered support at some point along the way.

That does not take away from your hard work. It simply reminds us that community matters, especially when life gets difficult. Sometimes the help you need is financial, sometimes it is practical advice and sometimes it is simply having someone who will show up when you need them.

The Best Time To Plant A Tree Was Yesterday. The Next Best Time Is Today

Regret can keep you stuck if you let it. Maybe you should have started saving earlier, learned that skill five years ago, taken better care of your health, started the business sooner or made a different career decision.

You cannot go back and change the timing, but you can still start. The fact that you did not do something earlier does not mean you have missed your chance completely. Sometimes the best thing you can do with regret is turn it into action.

Some Wisdom Really Does Stand The Test Of Time

The reason these sayings continue to be passed from one generation to another is simple: people change, but many of the things we struggle with do not. We are still trying to understand ourselves, raise families, build careers, manage money, maintain relationships and figure out where we belong.

For Africans living abroad, these old sayings can sometimes feel even more relevant because life can put you between different cultures and expectations. You may be building a life far from where your parents grew up while still carrying lessons, values and stories that started there.

And that may be the real beauty of African proverbs. They do not need to belong only to the past. We can take the wisdom that still works, question what no longer fits and pass the best of it forward in a way that makes sense for the lives we are living now.