Ìwà ní ńjọ oníwà lójú.
Where character shows
Original
Ìwà ní ńjọ oníwà lójú.
Word-for-word gloss
- Ìwà character ní ńjọ is-what pleases oníwà its-owner lójú in-the-eye.
Idiomatic English
"Character is always remarkable (or good) in the opinion of its owner."
Di source no name any translator.
Wetin e mean
Everyone approves of their own character.
When dem dey use am
Owomoyela: "One naturally approves of one's own character" Said to deflate a self-assessment.
Notes on di translation
Owomoyela's parenthetical "(or good)" records a genuine ambiguity in jọ... lójú, which covers both being pleasing to and seeming right to. The proverb is the Yorùbá statement of the problem that self-knowledge is not available by introspection, which is why entry 19 says the information has to come from other people.