Ẹní mọ ẹni ò dàbí ẹni a mọ̀.
Character and other people
Ìpilẹ̀
Ẹní mọ ẹni ò dàbí ẹni a mọ̀.
Ìtumọ̀ ọ̀rọ̀-sí-ọ̀rọ̀
- Ẹní mọ ẹni one-who knows one ò dàbí is-not like ẹni a mọ̀ one whom one knows.
Ìtumọ̀ Gẹ̀ẹ́sì
"A person who knows one is not like a person one knows."
Orísun náà kò dárúkọ ẹni tí ó túmọ̀ rẹ̀.
Ohun tí ó túmọ̀ sí
Being known by someone is not the same as knowing them, and only the second supports a judgement about character.
Ìgbà tí a ń lò ó
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.
Àkíyèsí lórí ìtumọ̀
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.