Jamaican proverbs

Each one word for word, then what it actually means — which is usually not the same thing. The proverbs are folk material; the translations and the commentary are mine.

Kingston

Howdy an tanky no bruk no square.Greetings and thanks cost you nothing — always give them freely.
Tek time get deh teday; mek haste get deh tomarra.Rushing costs you time — careful work gets there first.
Empty barrel mek di mos' noise.The loudest talkers usually know the least.

St. Andrew

New broom sweep clean, but ole broom know every corna.New people and things impress, but experience knows the hidden spots.
Di higher monkey climb, di more im expose.The more you rise or show off, the more your flaws are on display.
Licky-licky fly follow coffin go a hole.Appetite followed too far takes you somewhere you never meant to go.

St. Thomas

Who cyaan hear mus feel.Those who won't listen to warning learn the hard way.
Cuss-cuss neva bore hole inna yu skin.Hard words can't wound you the way a blow can — let them pass.
Time longer dan rope.Be patient — time outlasts everything and settles every score.

Portland

Wha sweet nanny goat a go run im belly.What pleases you now can hurt you later — mind the second helping of jerk!
No cuss alligator long-mout til yu cross riva done.Don't insult anyone whose help you still need.
Trouble no set like rain.Misfortune gives no warning — unlike Portland rain, you won't see it coming.

St. Mary

Every mickle mek a muckle.Small savings and small efforts count — market wisdom for money and life.
Time longer dan rope.Be patient; given enough time, everything gets settled — the St. Mary pace of life.
Chicken merry, hawk deh near.In your happiest moments, stay watchful — danger comes without warning.

St. Ann

Small axe fall big tree.The small can defeat the mighty — a proverb Bob Marley carried to the world.
Cock mout kill cock.Your own careless talk can destroy you — mind what you report and repeat.
Wha fi yu cyaan be un-fi-yu.What's destined for you can't be taken away — keep working toward your future.

Trelawny

One-one coco full baskit.Success comes gradually; be patient and consistent — the training mindset of every Trelawny farmer and sprinter.
Wha no kill, fatten.Hardship that you survive makes you stronger.
When man belly full, im bruk pot.Plenty makes people careless of the very thing that fed them.

St. James

Small axe fall big tree.The small can defeat the mighty — the spirit of Sam Sharpe's stand, made famous worldwide through Bob Marley.
Every mickle mek a muckle.Thrift matters; small savings and small sales build wealth — every higgla's creed.
Howdy an tanky no bruk no square.Greetings and thanks cost you nothing — and in the market, manners earn you the braata.

Hanover

Tek kin-teet kibba heart bun.People laugh to hide pain — the heart of tek bad tings mek laugh.
Quiet riva run deep.Still, quiet people often have the deepest feelings and strength — like quiet little Hanover itself.
Empty barrel mek di mos' noise.The loudest talkers usually know the least.

Westmoreland

Empty bag cyaan tan up.A hungry person cannot hold themselves up or do the work — feed people first.
Young cock crow after ole cock.The young one crows in imitation of the old: children copy what they see their elders do, so mind what you do in front of them.
Wha sweet nanny goat a go run im belly.What pleases you now can hurt you later.

St. Elizabeth

Wata more dan flour.Too much water and not enough flour, so the dumplings cannot be made — times are hard and what you have is stretched too thin.
Yu neva miss di wata til di well run dry.You don't value what you have until it's gone.
Belly full, potato hab kin.The satisfied become choosy and ungrateful — full people find fault with food.

Manchester

Cry-cry pickney neva hab im right.Constant complaining loses you the case you might have won.
Manners kyai yu tru di worl widout a penny.Respect and courtesy open doors that money cannot.
Di higher monkey climb, di more im expose.The more you rise or show off, the more your flaws are on display.

Clarendon

One-one coco full baskit.Success comes little by little; be patient and steady.
When bull ole, dem tek hog-meat ti-tie fi tie im.Strength doesn't last — what could never have held you young will hold you in the end.
When kitchen-dresser fall dung, mauga dog laugh.One person's disaster is another's chance — the overlooked profit when the well-off come down.

St. Catherine

Learn fi dance a yaad before yu go abroad.Master things among your own people before you show off elsewhere — the motto of this whole journey.
Wha fi yu cyaan be un-fi-yu.What's meant for you can't be taken from you.
New broom sweep clean, but ole broom know every corna.New things impress, but experience knows the hidden spots — like the old capital and the new.

Farin

Wi likkle but wi talawa.Small island, mighty people — Jamaica's reach across the world is far bigger than its map. Carry that strength with you a farin.
No kya how bird fly, im haffi come dung fi wata.However far you roam abroad, you must return to your source — home, family, roots. The diaspora always circles back to yaad.
Learn fi dance a yaad before yu go abroad.Ground yourself in your own culture first. For the diaspora learner it flips into a promise: the yaad inside you — granny, language, roots — is where all real learning starts.