The Yorùbá say: Òwe lẹṣin ọ̀rọ̀, bí ọ̀rọ̀ bá sọ̀nu, òwe la fi ń wá a — a proverb is the horse of speech; when words go astray, we ride after them with proverbs. To learn proverbs is to enter the mind of the language itself. Here are five to begin with.

1. Bí ọmọdé bá ṣubú, ó wo iwájú; bí arúgbó bá ṣubú, ó wo èhìn.
When a child falls, he looks ahead; when an elder falls, she looks back. Experience teaches elders to trace every fall to its cause.

2. Iṣẹ́ ni òògùn ìṣẹ́.
Work is the medicine for poverty. Notice the tones: iṣẹ́ (work) and ìṣẹ́ (poverty) differ only by tone marks.

3. Àgbà kì í wà lọ́jà, kí orí ọmọ tuntun ó wò.
An elder is never in the market and watches a newborn’s head hang crooked. The guidance of elders keeps the young upright.

4. Ọmọ tí a kò kọ́ ni yóò tà ilé tí a kọ́ tán.
The child we refuse to teach will one day sell the house we built. Education is protection for everything we build.

5. Ẹnu ni pa ẹja, ẹnu ni pa ẹyẹ.
It is the mouth that kills the fish and the mouth that kills the bird: words can destroy as well as save. Speak with care.