Burkina Faso Proverbs (50)

“If you haven't been to two marketplaces, you don't know which offers the best value.”

Comparing options through direct experience reveals true value.

“He who speaks does not know that the listener is smart.”

A speaker should never underestimate the intelligence of those who are listening.

“One hand does not pick up the flour.”

Some tasks are impossible to accomplish alone and require the cooperation of others.

“After beating milk, butter is obtained.”

Sustained effort transforms raw material into something valuable.

“Everything has an end, except the banana, which has two.”

A gently humorous reminder that, unlike most things, a banana has two visible ends.

“Every birth is the rebirth of an ancestor.”

A newborn child is seen as carrying forward the spirit and legacy of an ancestor who came before.

“The hen cannot say thank you to the mortar.”

One may benefit from another's labor without ever properly expressing gratitude for it.

“A friend is better than a brother of the same mother.”

A loyal, freely chosen friend can matter more than family bound only by blood.

“Patience is a golden path.”

Patience steadily leads toward valuable and lasting outcomes.

“An axe does not cut down a tree by itself.”

Tools and resources are worthless without human effort behind them.

“If the ants get together, they can lift an elephant.”

United, even the smallest and weakest can accomplish what looks impossible.

“Silence is also a form of speech.”

Saying nothing can communicate as powerfully as words.

“Beauty is not wisdom.”

Physical attractiveness does not equate to intelligence or good judgment.

“If you look for trouble, you will not miss it.”

Seeking out conflict all but guarantees that conflict will be found.

Rũnda benda saon beoogo kurga.

“The pants of today are better than the breeches of tomorrow.”

Help given now is worth more than a promise for later, because circumstances change quickly.

“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together.”

Quick individual progress cannot match the greater distance achieved through sustained collective effort.

“Patience can cook a stone.”

With enough patience and persistence, even the hardest problems eventually soften.

“The word of a friend makes you cry; the word of an enemy makes you laugh.”

A true friend's honest words may sting because they are sincere, while flattering words from an enemy ring hollow.

“The strength of the elderly is in the ears and on the lips.”

An elder's authority comes from careful listening and wise speech rather than physical strength.

Sẽn pa neb sẽn dat n yeel bũmb n pʋʋs ne Wẽnde.

“He who wants to speak to God needs no intermediary.”

Sincere devotion needs no go-between; a person can approach God directly.

Bũmb ka be tɩ sẽn tar-a n pa tɩ.

“Nothing is impossible for one who perseveres.”

Persistent effort can overcome even the greatest obstacles.

Ned ka mi a rogem daare ye.

“No one knows the day of their own birth.”

Much of life's timing and destiny lies beyond human knowledge or control.

“Dignity is more precious than gold.”

A person's honor and integrity matter more than any material wealth — the value that gave Burkina Faso, "land of upright people," its name.

“What God promised never fails.”

A divine promise is certain to be fulfilled, whatever the delay.

“If God does not take your life, no one can take it from you.”

Ultimate protection over one's life belongs to God alone.

“He who takes the trouble to bend down does not get up empty handed.”

Effort invested in humble, hard work is rewarded.

“If the shade does not reach the goat, the goat will seek the shade.”

When help does not come to you, you must go out and find it yourself.

“The orphan has God as father.”

The vulnerable and unprotected are watched over by a higher care.

“The horse cared for by two grooms dies of hunger.”

Divided responsibility leads to neglect; too many leaders create confusion.

“A child who loves farming and raising livestock is a perfect child.”

Devotion to agriculture and animal husbandry is honored as the mark of a good, hardworking child.

“That which is hard is good; whatever is easy brings no benefit.”

Worthwhile achievements come only through difficulty and sustained effort.

Il faut oser inventer l'avenir.

“We must dare to invent the future.”

True progress requires the courage to break from old patterns and imagine bold new possibilities rather than wait for them.

“One can only believe the fish that says the eye of the crocodile is rotten.”

Only someone with direct, firsthand experience of a thing is truly qualified to judge it.

“Even if you do not like the hare, at least recognize his speed.”

Fairness requires acknowledging someone's real skill or merit, even if you personally dislike them.

“The hand that gives is always above the one that receives.”

Generosity carries a quiet dignity and standing that receiving does not.

“If your father takes care of you until your teeth grow, take care of him until his teeth fall.”

Children owe their aging parents the same devoted care they once received as infants.

“The man who honors and glorifies God, does not die of hunger.”

A life of piety and reverence is believed to bring providence and protection from want.

“You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. In this case, it comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future.”

Real, deep change demands the courage to break from convention and imagine what does not yet exist.

“While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.”

A person can be silenced by force, but the ideas they carried live on beyond them.

“The revolution and women's liberation go together. We do not talk of women's emancipation as an act of charity or out of a surge of human compassion. It is a basic necessity for the revolution to triumph.”

True social transformation cannot happen while half the population remains unfree; women's liberation is not charity but a precondition for revolution.

“Debt is a cleverly managed reconquest of Africa, aiming at subjugating its growth and development through foreign rules.”

Foreign debt, Sankara argued, functions as a modern form of colonization, controlling a nation's development from the outside.

“Even if you leave a long piece of wood in the water, it will never become a crocodile.”

A thing does not change its true nature simply by being placed in a different environment for a long time; you cannot become something you are not.

“If the river route changes, the caiman is obliged to follow.”

One must adapt to changing circumstances rather than cling to how things used to be.

“Ants surround the dying elephant.”

Once the mighty grow weak, even the smallest creatures who once feared them will close in — a warning about the fragility of power.

“Only a thief can recognize the trace of another thief on a rock.”

It takes shared experience, or a similar nature, to truly recognize the same quality in someone else.

“Hunger is better than shame.”

It is better to endure physical want than to lose one's honor or dignity.

“If you do not have enough water to take a bath, wash your face.”

Make the best use of whatever limited resources you have rather than doing nothing at all.

“If they wash your back, you yourself should wash your stomach.”

When others help you, you must still do your own share of the work — assistance does not excuse effort.

“The content of a peanut is enough for two friends to share.”

True friendship is measured by a willingness to share even the smallest thing.

“Forgiveness, tolerance and wisdom are the language of strong men.”

Real strength of character shows through the capacity to forgive, tolerate, and act wisely — not through force.