Oǹsìn ní ńmọ ìwà.
Where character shows
Original
Oǹsìn ní ńmọ ìwà.
Literal 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."
No translator is named in the source.
What it means
The person who serves you sees what you are.
Used when
Owomoyela: "Those dependent on you can best tell what sort of person you are"
Notes on the 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.