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The proverb library

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29 proverbs

Documentedkng · kongo

Original text · kng

o ngangu ke nlongo ko, vo minwikwa muntu kaluka

French translation

la sagesse n'est pas un médicament qu'on administre pour rendre un homme sage

English translation

wisdom is not medicine to be administered that a man should be wise

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Sources

  1. Bentley, William HolmanTranslation pending — Appendix to the Dictionary and Grammar of the Kongo LanguageTranslation pending (1895), p. 883

    Source context : auteur missionnaire, période colonialeTranslation pending

    Reading guidance : Source produced in a colonial or missionary context: read with critical distance.

Documentedkng · kongo

Original text · kng

o nzenza okakanga e nua mia nsumi

French translation

un étranger, qui en tant que tel n'a pas d'occupation particulière, bouche les trous des fourmis nsumi

English translation

a stranger, who as such has no special business, stopping the holes of nsumi ants

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Sources

  1. Bentley, William HolmanTranslation pending — Appendix to the Dictionary and Grammar of the Kongo LanguageTranslation pending (1895), p. 896

    Source context : auteur missionnaire, période colonialeTranslation pending

    Reading guidance : Source produced in a colonial or missionary context: read with critical distance.

Documentedkng · kongo

Original text · kng

oyandi i nkanda a nlumba katina tanuka ko

French translation

il est une peau de lapin, et ne craint pas une égratignure

English translation

he is a rabbit's skin, and does not fear a scratch

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Sources

  1. Bentley, William HolmanTranslation pending — Dictionary and Grammar of the Kongo Language, as Spoken at San Salvador, the Ancient Capital of the Old Kongo Empire, West AfricaTranslation pending (1887), p. 175

    Source context : auteur missionnaire, période colonialeTranslation pending

    Reading guidance : Source produced in a colonial or missionary context: read with critical distance.

  2. Bentley, William HolmanTranslation pending — Dictionary and Grammar of the Kongo Language, as Spoken at San Salvador, the Ancient Capital of the Old Kongo Empire, West AfricaTranslation pending (1887), p. 379

    Source context : auteur missionnaire, période colonialeTranslation pending

    Reading guidance : Source produced in a colonial or missionary context: read with critical distance.

Documentedkng · kongo

Original text · kng

Tata k'afwa ko, mu nzadi kafwila, ifwe nkutu

French translation

Le chef ne mourra pas, mais s'il meurt au fleuve, je mourrai pour lui

English translation

Translation pending
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Sources

  1. Butaye, RenéTranslation pending — Dictionnaire kikongo-français, français-kikongoTranslation pending (1910), p. 255

    Source context : auteur missionnaire, période colonialeTranslation pending

    Reading guidance : Source produced in a colonial or missionary context: read with critical distance.

Documentedkng · kongo

Original text · kng

Yambula buifi, tukangala bole

French translation

Cesse de voler et nous serons compagnons (irons ensemble)

English translation

Translation pending
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Sources

  1. Butaye, RenéTranslation pending — Dictionnaire kikongo-français, français-kikongoTranslation pending (1910), p. 15

    Source context : auteur missionnaire, période colonialeTranslation pending

    Reading guidance : Source produced in a colonial or missionary context: read with critical distance.