Ìwà ní ńjọ oníwà lójú.
Where character shows
Ìpilẹ̀
Ìwà ní ńjọ oníwà lójú.
Ìtumọ̀ ọ̀rọ̀-sí-ọ̀rọ̀
- Ìwà character ní ńjọ is-what pleases oníwà its-owner lójú in-the-eye.
Ìtumọ̀ Gẹ̀ẹ́sì
"Character is always remarkable (or good) in the opinion of its owner."
Orísun náà kò dárúkọ ẹni tí ó túmọ̀ rẹ̀.
Ohun tí ó túmọ̀ sí
Everyone approves of their own character.
Ìgbà tí a ń lò ó
Owomoyela: "One naturally approves of one's own character" Said to deflate a self-assessment.
Àkíyèsí lórí ìtumọ̀
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.