20 Ga Language Proverbs with English Translations

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Yep, we’re at it again with the foreign-language proverbs, folks! This time, we’re poring over some Ga proverbs. If you don’t know anything about the Ga language, it’s a language spoken by roughly one million people in Ghana, west Africa.

These proverbs give you a delightful peek into the way the Ga people think, whilst also teaching you some vocabulary and sentence structure.

There’s not much in the way of language learning resources out there for this language, so it’s our pleasure to bring this little collection of proverbs to you to aid you in your studies.

We’ve included the English translations, of course, plus a handful of illustrations to really bring out the essence of selected proverbs.

Ga proverbs 1-5

Ga	English
Adudon ni kpa gbonyo hewo le, ekele ate.	A fly which hovers round a dead body will go with it.
Ke dse na le, gbomei fe dio.	If it is dark, all men are black.
Moni taoomi nakai le, emi ese ehe.	Whoever wants me as I an, is content.
Bonso da kpetenkple mon; si nsonkotoko gbeole.	The whale is truly very big, but the sea-porcupine (the swordfish) kills him.
Ke Okplom ye nii le, Ohwam hu yeo eko.	If the Okplom eat something the Ohwam also eats something. (Live and let live)

Ga proverbs 6-10

Ga	English
Bai enyo ehii bu kome mili.	Two crocodiles do not live in one hole.
La ye lilei sisi, ni atseo ladso.	Blood is under the tongue, and people spit saliva (ie. not blood).
Mo enyee mo yaka.	Nobody hates anybody without cause.
Nabu lee, ake etse mife fei.	The mouth does not know that its master is afraid.
Ake hinmeii enyo kwee to mili.	Not with both eyes people look into a bottle.

Ga proverbs 11-15

Ga	English
Moko ke kploto haa klan sito.	No one gives a pig to a hyena to keep.
Nu hie ye feo si ehii mli wo.	The face of water is beautiful, but it is not good to sleep on it.
Toii enyo si enuu sadsi enyo.	Two ears, but they do not hear two stories.
Gbomo fon hi fe sia flo.	A bad person is better than an empty house. (Ga people fear solitude more than bad company)
Wiemo kpakpa dseo mlifu.	A good word removes anger.

Ga proverbs 16-20

Ga	English
Blo momo hi fe blo he.	An old broom is better than a new one (as it’s sharp).
Nine se ke koko ten yee he gbo.	The back of the hand and the palm do not unite.
Mokome efee man.	One makes not a people (or town).
Ke onaa lo le, oyeo komi.	If thou find no fish, thou eatest bread.
Silafo etsoo filafo gbe.	A blind man does not show the way to a blind man.