Sierra Leonean Proverbs

Sierra Leonean Proverbs blend coastal West African humor with Temne, Mende, and Krio wisdom. From Freetown—founded for freed Africans—they praise solidarity, perseverance through hardship, and the power of words.

Sweet rice is eaten quickly. (Sierra Leonean Proverb)
The big fish is caught with big bait. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
To try and fail is not laziness. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
An orange never bears a lime. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
Even though chickens don't wash, their eggs are still white. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
I grew up among wise men and found that there is nothing better for man than silence. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
If you climb up a tree, you must climb down the same tree. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
Invite people into your parlor, and they will come into your bedroom. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
It is the wandering dog that finds the old bone. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
Knowledge is not the main thing, but deeds. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
Knowledge without practice makes but half an artist. (Sierra Leonean Proverb)
Only a monkey understands a monkey. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
Proverbs are the children of experience. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
However full the house, the hen finds a corner to lay in. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
He who upsets something should know how to put it back again. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
He who refuses a gift will not fill his barn. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
Do not tell the man who is carrying you that he stinks. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
When a single hair has fallen from your head, you are not yet bald. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
Death is the key that will open a miser's coffers. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
The cow must graze where she is tied. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
A hundred aunts is not the same as one mother. (Sierra Leonean Proverb)
Quarrels end, but words once spoken never die. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
The elephant's head is no load for a child. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
A paddle here, a paddle there - the canoe stays still. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb
A black cow also gives white milk. View proverb
Sierra Leonean Proverb