Kiswahili. Updated November 2026. 5 min read.
Ask a Kenyan elder for advice and you may get a proverb instead. Methali are short, rhythmic sayings that every Kenyan child learns at school and every grandmother uses at home, and they turn up everywhere: on the printed border of a kanga, painted on the back of a matatu, in a politician's speech and in Sunday sermons. A proverb is often introduced with Wahenga walisema, the ancestors said, and learning a few is the fastest way to sound as if you have been listening.
Here are ten methali that Kenyans really use, each with a word-for-word translation, its meaning and the moment you are likely to hear it. Two pieces of grammar are packed inside them, the habitual hu- and the relative -ye- (the one who). Once you can spot them, you can work out many more proverbs on your own.
What you will be able to do
- Recognise ten everyday proverbs and say what they mean
- Use one at the right moment, which Kenyans will notice
- Break a proverb into its parts and translate it
- Read the message on a kanga
The ten proverbs
| Methali | Word for word | What it means, and when you hear it |
|---|---|---|
| Haraka haraka haina baraka. | Hurry hurry has no blessing. | Rushing spoils things. Said to anyone impatient, including visitors who want everything now. |
| Polepole ndio mwendo. | Slowly is the way of walking. | Steady progress gets you there. Heard on mountain climbs and from any guide whose client is in a hurry. |
| Asiyesikia la mkuu huvunjika guu. | One who does not heed the elder breaks a leg. | Ignore your elders' advice at your peril. A favourite of parents and teachers. |
| Mgeni siku mbili, siku ya tatu mpe jembe. | A guest for two days; on the third day, give him a hoe. | Hospitality is generous, but a guest who stays should start to help. Said with a smile to long-staying relatives. |
| Ukiona vyaelea, vimeundwa. | If you see things floating, they were built. | Success has hard work behind it. Said of a thriving business, a good harvest or a top student. |
| Hakuna marefu yasiyo na ncha. | There is nothing long that has no end. | Every hardship ends. Said to someone going through a hard time, or stuck on a long drive. |
| Akili ni mali. | Intelligence is wealth. | A good mind is worth more than money. Said to students, and painted on school walls. |
| Mtaka cha mvunguni sharti ainame. | One who wants what is under the bed must bend down. | You have to make an effort for what you want. |
| Damu nzito kuliko maji. | Blood is heavier than water. | Family comes first, like 'blood is thicker than water'. |
| Kila ndege huruka na mbawa zake. | Every bird flies with its own wings. | Each person succeeds by their own abilities; do not measure yourself against others. |
Grammar point: hu- and -ye-
Proverbs are general truths, so they love the habitual prefix hu-. It replaces both the person and the tense and means 'as a rule, always': huvunjika (breaks, as a rule), huruka (flies, as birds do). A neighbouring proverb uses it too: Haba na haba hujaza kibaba, little by little fills the measure.
The relative -ye- means the one who, and it sits inside the verb. Asiyesikia breaks down as a- (he or she), -si- (not), -ye- (who) and sikia (hear): the one who does not hear. Mtaka, in proverb 8, is another way to make a 'one who' word: m- (a person) plus taka (want), the one who wants. Once you see these pieces, a long proverb becomes a short puzzle.
| Piece | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hu- | as a rule, always | huruka: flies (as birds do) |
| -si- | not, inside a 'who' verb | asiyesikia: one who does not hear |
| -ye- | who, the one who (one person) | asiyefunzwa: one who is not taught |
| m- + verb | a person who does it | mtaka: one who wants |
| ukiona | u- (you) plus -ki- (if) | ukiona: if you see |
Three more you will hear
- Haba na haba hujaza kibaba. Little by little fills the measure: small efforts add up. Said about saving money, and about learning Kiswahili.
- Usipoziba ufa utajenga ukuta. If you do not fill the crack, you will build a wall: fix small problems before they grow.
- Asiyefunzwa na mamaye hufunzwa na ulimwengu. One who is not taught by his mother is taught by the world. Both grammar points in one sentence.
Dialogue: the impatient guest
- Wewe: Twende! Tumechelewa!
- Dereva: Usijali. Haraka haraka haina baraka.
- Wewe: Lakini ninataka kuona simba kabla ya saa nne!
- Dereva: Tutawaona. Polepole ndio mwendo.
- Wewe: Sawa, sawa. Hakuna marefu yasiyo na ncha.
- Dereva: Aah, unajua methali! Akili ni mali!
Tumechelewa is we are late, usijali is don't worry, kabla ya saa nne is before 10am (Lesson 8) and tutawaona is we will see them, with -wa- for them in the middle. You have just held a conversation almost entirely in proverbs, which is a very Kenyan thing to do.
Practice
- 1. Your cousin is three weeks from the end of exams and wants to give up. Which proverb? Answer: Hakuna marefu yasiyo na ncha.
- 2. A friend says the owner of a busy shop just got lucky. Which proverb? Answer: Ukiona vyaelea, vimeundwa.
- 3. A child ignores his grandmother and falls off the wall. Answer: Asiyesikia la mkuu huvunjika guu.
- 4. Fill the gap: Haraka haraka haina ____. Answer: baraka.
- 5. Fill the gap: Kila ndege huruka na ____ zake. Answer: mbawa.
- 6. Split asiyesikia into its parts. Answer: a- (he or she) + -si- (not) + -ye- (who) + sikia (hear).
- 7. What does hu- in huruka tell you? Answer: that it happens as a rule, as a general truth.
Cultural note: proverbs you can wear
The kanga is a rectangle of printed cotton worn by women on the coast and across East Africa, usually sold in pairs. Each one has a border, a central design and a line of Kiswahili text, called the jina (name) or ujumbe (message). The message can be a proverb, a blessing, a prayer or a sly remark aimed at a rival or a mother-in-law, and women choose a kanga as much for what it says as for its colours. A kanga given as a gift delivers its message to the person who receives it.
If you buy a kanga in Mombasa or Lamu, ask the seller to read the message to you and explain it before you pay; some are pointed, and a few are not what you want to give your hostess. Our page on Kenyan fashion covers the kanga, the kikoi and the designers using both today.
Say it on your trip
When your guide waits patiently while you fumble with a camera, Polepole ndio mwendo gets a laugh. At the end of a long family visit, quoting Mgeni siku mbili, siku ya tatu mpe jembe about yourself, and then offering to help in the kitchen, shows that you understand the joke and the manners behind it.
Next lesson
Lesson 10, the last, is for children: songs, riddles and playground games, and a review of the whole course.
