Ẹní mọ ẹni ò dàbí ẹni a mọ̀.
Character and other people
Original
Ẹní mọ ẹni ò dàbí ẹni a mọ̀.
Literal gloss
- Ẹní mọ ẹni one-who knows one ò dàbí is-not like ẹni a mọ̀ one whom one knows.
Idiomatic English
"A person who knows one is not like a person one knows."
No translator is named in the source.
What it means
Being known by someone is not the same as knowing them, and only the second supports a judgement about character.
Used when
Owomoyela: "One can vouch for the character of a person one knows, not of a person who knows one" Used when someone is asked to stand surety on the strength of a claimed acquaintance.
Notes on the translation
The Yorùbá distinguishes the two directions by word order alone, with no change of vocabulary, so the proverb is a minimal pair. It has practical force in a culture where standing surety for a person is a formal act with real liability.