Oromo Proverb

Mammaaksa Afaan Oromoo


Qawwee dhufe dubbin dhufe
When an Amhara came, a problem came
Yaraadha jennaan kan nadheen dhiitu.
A bad man is he who kicks a woman.
Abbaan waraanaa dubbii waaraana dubbata.
A leader of war talks about war.
Olkaa’an fuudhan malee olka’an hinfudhan.
One takes tomorrow what he/she puts by today.
Mataa malee balbala hinbaan.
Head goes through a door before the other parts
of the body.
Mana ofii dhakaa itti baatan.
One carries a stone in his home.
Nama duloometu waa hima.
It is an elderly person who tells something.
Nama dubbiin nama dhibe cal’dhisan dhiban.
When a person troubles you with a disappointing
word, trouble him with silence.
Beekaan afaan cufata malee balbala hincufatu.
A wise man shuts his mouth, but not his door.
Kan suuta deemu qoraatiin suuta seent.
A thorn slowly gets into the body of a person
who walks slowly.
Dhugaan ganama huqqattee galgala gabbatti.
Truth looks thin in the morning but grows fat in
the evening.
Dhugaan niqallatti malee hincabdu.
Although it is thin, truth doesn’t break.
Cubbuun dura furdifte booda qallisti.
Sin makes someone plump at first and
emaciated later.
Cubbuun takka tratii takka dhaqabdi.
Sin goes slowly but reaches timely.
Nama abbaa jedhaniin obboo hinjedhan.
One doesn’t call someone “brother” after he has
called him “father”.