Oǹsìn ní ńmọ ìwà.
Where character shows
Original
Oǹsìn ní ńmọ ìwà.
Word-for-word gloss
- Oǹsìn the-servant ní ńmọ ìwà is-who knows the-character.
Idiomatic English
"The servant is best placed to know the master's character."
Di source no name any translator.
Wetin e mean
The person who serves you sees what you are.
When dem dey use am
Owomoyela: "Those dependent on you can best tell what sort of person you are"
Notes on di translation
Owomoyela's bracketed "the master's" is his supplement; the Yorùbá says only "knows character," leaving whose character unstated, and the hearer supplies it. The proverb is a claim about epistemic position: subordinates observe from an angle superiors cannot check.