Dingindira
Tsumo dzeupfumi.
Shona proverbs with their meaning, not just the saying. Seven hundred and sixteen tsumo, grouped by what each one is for.
Zundu kugara mundove hunzi neni ndava mombewo.Someone who stays close to a person of high status wants to be seen...Kupa huvigisa.If you lend money or goods to others when they are in need, you will...Kudada kwavari mugomo kukumbira vari pasi mapfihwa.It would be arrogant for the wealthy, who live comfortably, to beg...Panoramba machinda nherera sinyungwe.A person should act according to their own means; they should not...Ngwena haidyi chebamba chayo chinoza neronga.A wealthy person of good character rarely eats greedily; they only...Tsvimborume chenga urarami hama dzife ugogara nhaka.Someone who lacks things should not lose heart; they should know...Chipa muchena kupfuma mudzinu wake. (K)A person who stays poor tends to remain poor even after being helped...Musachema muzvere afirwa nomwana muchisiya uyo afa nomwana wake.People often feel more sympathy for someone with a smaller...Chaitemura chava kuseva.The once-great are now impoverished.Chiri pamuchena chiri pamutenure.The poor man's victories do not last.Murombo haarovi chinenguwo.The poor man rarely achieves great success.Ane ganda ane nyama hazvienzane nowakabata hohwa.Someone who possesses real substance and wealth is not to be...Chakaenzanwa ibvudzi upfumi hahuna kuenzanwa.Some things, like hair, can be trimmed to be equal, but wealth...Chinokokwa upfumi, urombo hunozvikoka.Prosperity has to be actively pursued through effort, but poverty...Gona rehupfumi iziya.Prosperity comes through hard work and sweat, not through easy...Hakuna mombe inokorera pamarekete.You cannot thrive on poor or inadequate resources; good outcomes...Kubvongodza muto kuseva kweaguta.Someone who already has plenty tends to grow careless and wasteful...Kugara nhaka kuona dzevamwe.To manage what you inherit well, learn from watching how others have...Kugarika tange nhamo.Most people face hardship before they find stability; prosperity...Kunaka kwemurume imombe dzake.Traditionally, a man's standing comes not from his appearance but...Kunaka kwemurume kuri muhomwe.What makes a man appealing often has more to do with what he has...Kupfuma kwemuchana mudzimu wake.Even someone of humble standing has their own path to prosperity...Kuramba nyama yechidembo hunge une yetsuro.You can afford to turn down a lesser option when you already have...Kushaya hakunenerwi munhu denga ratarama.Poverty is not always someone's own fault; sometimes it comes from...Mari ine chitema.Wealth often carries some hidden cost or wrongdoing behind how it...Mazvake-mazvake kudya kwembada.Everyone must fend for themselves, the way a leopard eats alone...Mombe yekukumbira ndeyekukama wakaringe nzira.Something borrowed should be used with care and caution, always...Mombe yenjeni kutokama wakasungira.What belongs to someone else needs to be handled with even more care...Muchero wegudo unodyirwa kupedza.Something gained through real effort or risk is valued fully, with...Muromo chipfukuto unopedza matura.Excess, whether in eating or in idle talk, can quietly drain away...Mvura inoera usinayo.Good fortune often seems to pass by those who already have the least...Mwanasikana ndimapfumise.Traditionally, a daughter brings wealth to her family through the...Ndingarega sei kununa ini ndiri parumano.Someone whose circumstances are already set up well can hardly fail...Njera yomusaririra ndiyo yeshiri.Whatever is left over after everyone else has taken their share goes...Nyika mukanza, haina mukwambo.A land or an opportunity belongs to everyone alike, not to any one...Panodya ishe varanda vanodyawo.A leader's good fortune tends to trickle down and benefit those who...Pfuma yenhaka inoparadza ukama.Disputes over inheritance often damage family relationships that...Raramo idivakamwe.Making a living is a shared undertaking; people draw on the same...Rombe ngerichaenda rodzoka ndimambo.Someone who leaves with nothing can return transformed and honoured...Rombe rinosekwa richaenda, kana rodzoka hedzo nhureture.Those who mock the poor traveller on the way out are often left...Rugare tange nhamo.Lasting comfort and peace usually come only after first passing...Tsapata rukukwe hazvienzani nokurara pasi.Even something worn and imperfect is still far better than having...Upfumi idova hautani kupera.Material wealth can vanish just as quickly as morning dew evaporates...Urombo hwayo mhembwe kufa iri pamusungo.Poverty can trap someone as helplessly as an animal caught in a...Urombo uroyi hauudzwi munhu.People tend to hide their poverty rather than speak of it openly...Vimba nechako, chemwango chekukumbira hachina ndima.Borrowed things are never as reliable as what genuinely belongs to...Waguta zvekupisa dura.Overindulgence can lead someone to act recklessly, destroying the...Wegudza ndowegudza kufuga gumbeze rinotsva.It is best to make do with and value what is truly your own, even...Zviri kumwene wegira kufuka kana kuwarira.The owner of something has the final say over how it gets used.
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