In Hausa, a proverb is karin magana, literally “a piece of speech”. People use proverbs to calm a quarrel, give advice politely or make a joke without naming anyone. Here are six that are widely quoted.
Haƙuri maganin duniya.
Gani ya kori ji.
Abokin kirki ya fi mugun ɗan’uwa.
Komai da ranarsa.
Tsare gaskiya, ko da wuta aka sa ka.
Abin da baki ya ɗaura, hannu ba ya kwancewa.
Hausa has many hooked letters (ɓ, ɗ, ƙ) and the spelling of proverbs varies between sources, so a Hausa speaker may write them slightly differently. Ask a friend to say them aloud: they are made to be heard.