Ìwà kì í fi oníwà sílẹ̀.
Character as the ground of a person
Ìpilẹ̀
Ìwà kì í fi oníwà sílẹ̀.
Ìtumọ̀ ọ̀rọ̀-sí-ọ̀rọ̀
- Ìwà character kì í fi does-not leave oníwà the-owner-of-character sílẹ̀ behind.
Ìtumọ̀ Gẹ̀ẹ́sì
"Character will not forsake its owner."
Orísun náà kò dárúkọ ẹni tí ó túmọ̀ rẹ̀.
Ohun tí ó túmọ̀ sí
Character is permanent property. It does not detach from the person who has it.
Ìgbà tí a ń lò ó
Owomoyela: "One cannot shed one's character" Said of someone expecting a change of place or circumstance to make them a different person.
Àkíyèsí lórí ìtumọ̀
Oníwà, the owner of character, is formed on the productive oní- prefix that makes an owner-noun from any noun. Yorùbá treats character as a possession throughout this set of proverbs, which is why shed rather than change is the right English verb.