Meaning: Hospitality requires effort and grace

Context: Generosity demands both work and elegance — give with honor

Meaning: Don't eat what feeds you, but take what feeds your wealth

Context: Preserve resources — spend wisely to sustain livelihood

Meaning: What Somalis see at afternoon, they mock by evening

Context: People talk quickly — reputation travels fast

Meaning: Somalis may tell lies, but never in proverbs

Context: Traditional wisdom is sacred — proverbs carry truth

Meaning: A harsh speaker is worse than a sorcerer

Context: Words can wound deeper than spells — tone matters

Meaning: A woman's secret can't be fully uncovered

Context: Mystery belongs to femininity — some minds are unknowable

Meaning: He who hides nothing, may God make his way easy

Context: Honest hearts are peaceful — transparency brings blessing

Meaning: You didn't pour for me the way I milked for you

Context: Ingratitude hurts — kindness deserves reciprocity

Meaning: The stranger's caress lacks warmth

Context: Foreign kindness lacks depth — true care comes from kin

Meaning: A women's gathering exceeding five becomes mischief

Context: Humorously warns against gossip — large talk leads to trouble

Meaning: You don't burn incense for everyone in a meeting

Context: You can't please everyone — leadership requires fairness, not flattery

Meaning: A bird doesn't build two nests

Context: Focus on one home — stability over scattering

Meaning: Each bird flies with its kind

Context: People associate with their equals — company reflects character

Meaning: The bird that flies too much lands in the lion's mouth

Context: Restlessness leads to danger — too much movement risks safety

Meaning: The bird that took fire during the day burned its own nest

Context: Reckless acts backfire — harm often returns home

Meaning: Five who share a fire get one flame; five who don't, lose five sparks

Context: Unity multiplies results — division wastes effort

Meaning: A brother-in-law is like a farm

Context: Relationships, like land, need care and yield returns when tended

Meaning: You don't cut off your nose because it smells

Context: Don't destroy yourself to fix a flaw — solve without self-harm

Meaning: The patient find goodness

Context: Patience leads to peace — endurance brings reward

Meaning: Every prayer has its time

Context: Everything has its season — timing matters in all affairs