Niger Proverbs
Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Niger Proverbs, Niger quotes, and Niger sayings, collected over the years from a variety of sources. Enjoy reading these insights and feel free to share this page on your social media to inspire others.
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Niger or the Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa named after the Niger River. Niger is bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest. The capital and largest city is Niamey, located in Niger’s southwest corner.
The country’s name comes from the Niger River which flows through the west of the country; the origin of the river’s name is uncertain, though a popular theory is that it comes from the Tuareg n’eghirren, meaning ‘flowing water’.
Niger Proverbs in English
A friendship through the stomach will never die. – Niger Proverbs
A man who lives on the banks of the Niger should not wash his hands with spittle.- Niger Proverbs
A proverb is the horse of conversation; when the conversation lags, a proverb revives it.- Niger Proverbs
A stream coming down won’t let you swim up.- Niger Proverbs
A wise man who knows his proverbs can reconcile difficulties.- Niger Proverbs
Abundance will make cotton pull a stone.- Niger Proverbs
Accomplishment of purpose is better than making a profit.- Niger Proverbs

Ancient rock engraving showing herds of giraffe, ibex, and other animals in the southern Sahara near Tiguidit, Niger.
An orphaned calf licks its own back.- Niger Proverbs
Ashes fly back into the face of him who throws them.- Niger Proverbs
Before one cooks, one must have the meat.- Niger Proverbs
Before starting to sing, the young bird will listen to the song of the old.- Niger Proverbs
Even the Niger river must flow around an island.- Niger Proverbs
Every fault is laid at the door of the hyena, but it does not steal a bale of cloth.- Niger Proverbs
Every kind of love is love, but self-love is supreme among them.- Niger Proverbs
Familiarity breeds contempt; distance breeds respect.- Niger Proverbs
He who boasts much can do little.- Niger Proverbs
He who does not mend his clothes will soon have none.- Niger Proverbs
He who marries a beauty marries trouble.- Niger Proverbs
If the owner of the goat is not afraid to travel by night, the owner of a hyena certainly will not be.- Niger Proverbs
If you beat a lion, it is your own head that aches.- Niger Proverbs
If you play push with the porcupine, expect to get sore hands.- Niger Proverbs
If you watch your pot, your food will not burn.- Niger Proverbs
Ignorance is darker than the night. – Hausa people, Niger and Nigeria
Only a medicine man gets rich by sleeping.- Niger Proverbs
Patience can cook a stone.- Niger Proverbs
The (word) of a friend makes you cry; the (word) of an enemy makes you laugh.- Niger Proverbs
The cry of the hyena and the loss of the goat are one.- Niger Proverbs
The egg becomes a cockerel.- Niger Proverbs
The rat cannot call the cat to account.- Niger Proverbs
There is no medicine against old age.- Niger Proverbs
When a fowl eats your neighbor’s corn, drive it away; another time, it will eat yours.- Niger Proverbs
When the music changes, so does the dance.- Niger Proverbs
When there are no trees left, birds will perch on men’s heads.- Niger Proverbs
You cannot shave a man’s head in his absence.- Niger Proverbs

Map of the Songhai Empire, overlaid over modern boundaries
Bundu mu jiri hari la, a su ba gu te kare.
Even if a log floats in water for a long time, it will never become a crocodile.