Xitsonga.
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A free dictionary with thousands of words Issue: Wed, 31 May 2023
To: Guest user
A list of Xitsonga proverbs translated to English.
- A proverb is xivuriso in Xitsonga.
- A proverb is a short pithy saying in general use, stating a general truth or piece of advice.
- Please read our legal page for terms of use.
- The community is correcting the information on this document.
1 A ndzi ku hi laha ku nga na mpfula ku sala ndzhongo
I thought it is where the rain has poured and left fertile soil ground
I thought it was good things
2 Baji ri talele hi moya
The jacket is full of air
Someone has passed away
3 Dyondzo i xitlhangu xa vutomi
Education is the key to a good life
4 Emahlweni ka nghala ku fambiwa na xisana
When you go in front of a lion you must take a fire
You must be prepared when you approach a difficult target
5 Fuwa hlolwa u tsema ndleve
When you domesticate a wild dog you must cut its ear
When you help someone and he or she later turns against you
6 Hambi wo famba enkoveni lundza ri ta vonaka
Even if you walk in a valley your head will be visible
There are no secrets
7 Hi ta ku i timangwa loko hi vona mavala
We will say it's zebras when we see the stripes
I will believe something when I see it
8 Homu yo famba hi ndlela a yi heti nsimu
A cattle which eats as it moves by the roadside does not finish a field
A visitor will not finish your food
9 Huma mhiri se ku nghena mamba
A python should leave for the black mamba to go in
When you beat someone at something very important.
10 Humba yi olele nkuma
The snail has collected ashes
Someone passed away
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A free dictionary with thousands of words Issue: Wed, 31 May 2023
11 I kwakwa ra sekwa ma vonela e kule
The blessings of a duck is that it can see things which are far
12 I malebvu ya nghala
It is a lion's beard
Something that is not as scary as it looks
13 I matutu vana va tavasi
It is plenty
14 I tihomu ta ka Sono ti gomolana exivaleni
Cattle fighting in a kraal
A family discussing family matters.
15 Ku ba mati tingwenya ti tlela
To beat the water and the crocodiles sleep
To give a bribe
16 Ku dya ngopfu a hi ku hlula ndlala
Eating too is not to defeat hunger
Eating too much doesn't defeat hunger
17 Ku pfuxiwa leyi ti pfuxaka
People only wake those who wake themselves
People only help those who help themselves
18 Ku tlula ka mhala swi letela n'wana wa le ndzeni
The way an impala jumps influences its unborn child
A child often takes after their mother
19 Ku tshama hi mavoko swi chela vusiwana
Lazy hands make a man poor
20 Kuwa ra le tshyakeni u dyisa hi n'wana
Only your child can feed you a dirty fig fruit
21 Kuwa ro tshwuka ri na xivungu endzeni
A fig fruit which is pink has a worm inside
A beautiful woman tends to have bad deeds
22 Kwembe ro hiwa a ri na murhu
A pumpkin which is given to you or you didn't prepare yourself is usually dry.
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23 Laha ku nga ni tinhongani ku borile xilo
Where there are flies there's something rotten
24 Laha ndlati yi nga ba kona yi tlhela yi vuya
Lighting will struck when it has struck in the past
25 Lexi xi nga heriku xa hlola
What doesn't end is taboo
Everything has an end
26 Loko u nga fambi u ta teka makwavo
If you don't travel you'll marry your sibling
27 Loko u tsundzuka mhelembe khandziya nsinya
When you think of a rhino immediately climb a tree
When you remember something do it immediately
28 Mahlo ya kwahle ya tiva hi muyevuri
The eyes of lizard are only seen by the hunter who kills it
You don't know something until you experience it
29 Makondlo ma mbirhi a ya celi mbovo wun'we
Two rats cannot dig the same hole
30 Mangwa yi pfumale timondzo hi ku rhumisa
A zebra doesn't have horn because of sending others to do its work
31 Masasani u fele nhoveni
A person who helps people died in the bushes
Those who help others in need normally do not get help when they themselves are in need
32 Masiku i tinguluve
Days are pigs
It means days are plenty
33 Mavala ya mangwa i man'we
Stripes of a zebra are the same
Women are the same
34 Mavoko ya munhu a ya mili nhova
Grass cannot grow on a human beings hands
You must work hard to succeed.
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35 Maxinjani a xi khani ka mbirhi
A squirrel cannot cross your path twice
Present luck makes it more unlikely to obtain a similar luck in future
36 Mbita ya vovo yi dlele tingengendza
A person who is always sick tends to live longer than those who are more often in good health
37 Mbuti ya xihaha a yi tswaleli entlhambhini
A secretive goat does not give birth in a midst
Timhaka to lava xihundla a ti vulavuleriwa evanhwini
38 Mbuti yi dya laha yi nga bohiwa kona
A goat eats where it is tied
39 Mbyana leyi hanyaka yi tlula nghala leyi feke
A living dog is better than a dead lion
40 Mbyana loko yi lava ku ku luma ya n'wayitela
A dog smiles when it intends to bite you
41 Mbyana yo vukula a yi lumi
A barking dog does not bite
42 Mfenhe a yi tivoni makovo
A baboon can't see if he's ugly
43 Mfenhe loko yi khome vulombe yi famba hi milenge yinharhu
A baboon with honey walks on three legs
44 Mhisi yi tlakule tshurhi
A hyena stole the food basket
Hunger has just attacked a family
45 Mhuti yi biwa ya ha ri na mahika
An Antelope is killed while is sighing
Mhaka yi tengiwa/endliwa ya ha hisa
46 Mhuti yo tlulatlula Mangulwe u ta yi khoma
An antelope which is jumping next to a dog named Mangulwe will be caught.
A girl who becomes too close or playful to a boy who wants to propose marriage will eventually accept the proposal
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47 Mintirho ya vulavula
Deeds speak
48 Mpfundla wa rivala cucululu
A rabbit which forgot to run away from hunters
49 Muhloti wa tinyarhi ti vuya hi yena
Buffalos are chasing their hunter
50 Mundzuku i siku
Tomorrow is a day
51 N'hwari mbirhi yin'we yi ta tshwa nkanga
If one tries to do more than one thing at the same time, one might not prosper.
52 N'wana loko a nga rili u ta fela a dzobyeni
A child who does not cry will die unnoticed at the back of his mother
53 N'wana u tseme mubya
A disobedient child
54 N'wana wa mfenhe a nga tsandziwi hi rhavi
The child of baboon does not fail a branch
55 N'wana wa nyoka i nyoka
An offspring of snake is a snake
56 Nchindzu makukulela ekule
Munhu wo tirhela ehandle a tshika ekaya
57 Ndlela ya khale yi hava muntwa
An old path doesn't have thorns
58 Ndlopfu a yi fi hi rimbambu rin'we
An elephant does not die of one broken rib
A man shouldn't give up because of one adversity
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59 Ndzi nge dyeriwi hi ti mpfuvu ndzi nga rimangi enhlalukweni
I will not allow hippos to eat my produce when I didn't even plough by the marshes
Said to defend one's property or rights
60 Ndzi ta ku komba xancila wa bulubulu
I will show you a mythical creature
61 Nghala yi etlele na khwiri ra yona
A lion sleeps with its stomach
62 Nghala yi vomba exihlahleni
A lion roars in the bush
Munhu u tiya loko a ri na ka va vona
63 Ngoma a yi tichayi
A drum doesn't beat itself
An expert does not boast or talk about her skills, the skills talk for her
64 Ngwenya kelenge xivutla ni mindzeko
A crocodile which is troubling people going to get water at the river for fun
I munhu wo karhata ngopfu.
65 Nhenha yi vonaka enyimpini
A brave person is seen during war
A person should display their strength and skills against their counterparts instead of boasting about them.
66 Nhonga ya le kule a yi dlayi nyoka
A stick which is far cannot kill a snake
67 Njiya a yi fani na murhoho
A locust is not the same as a vegetable
Little is better than nothing
68 Nkoka wo ya kule a wu na nyama
A long trail doesn't have meat
69 Nkondzo i malahla
Help a stranger who bewilds into your home, tomorrow you may bewild into their home.
70 Nomu a wu taleriwi hi nambu
A mouth can cross any river.
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71 Nsinya wa le ndzelekanini a wu na n'winyi
A tree grown in the boundaries have no owner
72 Nyoka yo yi vona a yi lumi
A snake which you can see can't bite you
73 Nyuku wa mbyana wu helela evoyeni
The sweat of a dog finishes in it's fur.
To work for no reward
74 Rihlampfu rintswa ri tiyisiwa hi le ra khale
A new branch is supported by the old one
75 Rintiho rin'we a ri nusi hove
One finger cannot pick a grain
76 Risokoti ri dlele ndlopfu
An ant killed an elephant
77 Sasela vanungu
Helping others
78 Siku ra ngati a ri tshwuki
A day of blood is never red
There's no warning before a tragic day
79 Timhisi ta mikoka yi mbirhi yin'we yi phatluka nyonga
When a pack hyenas have 2 trails one hyena will break its leg
If you try to do too many things at the same time you will fail
80 Timondzo to lombiwiwa a ti namarheli
Borrowed horns do not stick
81 Timpfuvu timbirhi a ti tshami xidziveni xinwe
Two hippos cannot stay in the place
82 Tinghala timbirhi ta chavana
Two lions fear each other
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83 Tinhlanga ta le ndzhaku ti tiviwa hi mutlhaveri wa tona
The tattooing marks made on the back are known by the tattooer, not by the tattooed
84 Tolo a nga ha vuyi
Yesterday will not come back
85 U lumiwile hi mpfundla
He was bitten by a rabbit
A man who is afraid to approach women or a man how is struggling to find a woman to love him.
86 U nga dlayi nyoka u yi ndzuluta, ta micele ta ku vona
Do not kill a snake and swing it, the ones inside the holes are watching you
U nga endli swilo swo homboloka u famba u ti bumabuma.
87 U nga hlawuli nkuku wa mhangele
One must not choose the male of the guinea-fowl.
This proverb is said to a young husband who might be tempted to prepare something for their babies before their birth, since you do
not know if the baby is a male or female.
88 U nga sahi nsinya hi vuxika, u ta tshwa hi mumu hi ximumu
Do not cut the tree in winter, you will burn by sun in summer.
89 U nga teki mali u bohela enengeni wa mpfuvu
Do not tie money in the leg of hippopotamus
90 U nga teki sava u ba ngwenya
Don't take sand and hit a crocodile.
Don't take the small you have and give to someone who has more
91 Vana va munhu va tsemelana nhloko ya njiya
Siblings are sharing the head of locust
92 Vuhosi a byi peli nambu
Chiefdom does not cross the river
93 Vukati va kandza hi mbilu
A strong heart is necessary to make a marriage work
94 Vukosi i mberha
Chiefdom is dew
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Beautiful things end
95 Vusiwana byi na xilandzu
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96 Vusiwana i vuloyi
Poverty is often from witchcraft
97 Vutlhari bya mhangele i ku hubuta
The wisdom of a guinea fowl is being early
98 Vuxaka bya n'hwarhi i ku handza swin'we
-
99 Xandla famba, xandla vuya.
Let the hand go and let the hand come back.
100 Xibodze xa mughana a xi chayeriwi noti
Don't whistle to a friend's tortoise
Unga tshembi swilo swa un'wana
101 Xihlovo a xi dungiwi loko u heta ku nwa mati
Do not close the well after having drunk
102 Xihlovo xa le mahlweni i madlayisa torha
A well which is far away will make you die of thirst
Live for today as tomorrow is not guaranteed
103 Xikomu xi vuyela mbhinyini
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104 Xikomu xo lomba a xi na ndzima
A borrow ploughing hoe doesn't have a ploughing field.
105 Xilandza nsati a va hleki
A man who goes to get his wife back, shouldn't be made fun of
106 Ximita ntsengele xi tshemba nkolo
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He who swallows a large stone has confidence in the size of his throat
107 Xinamu xi dlele nkwahle
Slowness killed a lizard
108 Xinyenyana xo hubuta xi dya swivungu swo nona
An early bird catches the fattest worms
109 Xirhami xi vuyisa nhwana vukati
Chillness causes a girl to come back to her parents house from her husbands house
It is very cold.
110 Xisuti xa mbuti xi tiva hi n'wini wa xona
The waist of a goat is known by the owner.
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