Ẹni a fẹ́ kì í ṣìwà hù.
Character formed and deformed
Ìpilẹ̀
Ẹni a fẹ́ kì í ṣìwà hù.
Ìtumọ̀ ọ̀rọ̀-sí-ọ̀rọ̀
- Ẹni a fẹ́ one whom we love kì í ṣìwà hù does-not grow wrong-character.
Ìtumọ̀ Gẹ̀ẹ́sì
"A beloved person can do nothing wrong."
Orísun náà kò dárúkọ ẹni tí ó túmọ̀ rẹ̀.
Ohun tí ó túmọ̀ sí
Affection suspends judgement of character.
Ìgbà tí a ń lò ó
Owomoyela: "To be loved is to be infallible" Said sarcastically, of favouritism.
Àkíyèsí lórí ìtumọ̀
Ṣìwà, from ṣì (to err) plus ìwà, is a single word for having bad character, and it takes the same verb hù as good character does. The proverb is descriptive, not approving: it reports a bias rather than endorsing it, and its normal use is to point out that a bias is operating.