Ibi ajá la ti ńmọ oǹrorò àpọ́n.
Where character shows
Ìpilẹ̀
Ibi ajá la ti ńmọ oǹrorò àpọ́n.
Ìtumọ̀ ọ̀rọ̀-sí-ọ̀rọ̀
- Ibi ajá at-the-matter-of-the-dog la ti ńmọ is-where we know oǹrorò àpọ́n the-cruel bachelor.
Ìtumọ̀ Gẹ̀ẹ́sì
"It is from his treatment of his dog that one can tell which unmarried man will be a terror to live with."
Orísun náà kò dárúkọ ẹni tí ó túmọ̀ rẹ̀.
Ohun tí ó túmọ̀ sí
Small unwatched behaviour predicts large behaviour.
Ìgbà tí a ń lò ó
Owomoyela: "One can tell much about a person's character from how he or she acts with regard to seemingly inconsequential matters" Used in practice when a family is assessing a suitor.
Àkíyèsí lórí ìtumọ̀
Àpọ́n is specifically an unmarried man, so the proverb has a definite social setting: the dog is the only dependent he currently has, and it is therefore the only available evidence. The reasoning is inductive and the proverb is unusually explicit about its own method.