| A dↄn pul bↄd na trap we in yay rɛd lɛk jɛmbɛtutu, so noto pɛpɛ bↄd de kam mek chiw chiw pan mi. | I have removed a bird with eyes as red as jembetutu (a kind of brown dove) from a trap. So ‘a tiny bird’ cannot come and make ‘twi twi twi’ at me. | I am not frightened by, and can easily cope with a small matter like this, for I have coped with much more difficult situations. |
| A nↄ go day fↄ pɛpɛ we sↄl de | I will not die for pepper when there is salt | I shall not stress myself over what I don't have when I have something else. |
| A nↄ go dↄn de wit yu na wekin ol nɛt dɛn na mↄnin yu aks wetin mek mi yay rɛd. | I will not have been with you at a wake all night, and then in the morning you ask why my eyes are red | We were both in the situation which has caused me to look, feel or act the way I do, so why ask for explanations. l or act the way I do, so why ask for explanations. |
| A nↄ go dↄn sɛl naynti-nayn grani, a nↄ no mi yon grani in prays. | I cannot have sold ninety-nine grandmother and I do not know my own my own grandmother’s price | Of course, I know everything about the subject in question because I have had a lot of experience in such matters. |
| A nↄ go fala pikin drↄ kalbas | I will not follow a child to pull a calabash. (play tug-of-war with a calabash) | I refuse to demean myself by quarrelling with a child especially when such a quarrel might have unpleasant or disastrous results. (Calabash being easily smashed). |
| A nↄ go gɛ lif ɛn tek mi an tot pupu (a nↄ go lɛf lif na bush ɛn tek mi an wep mi wes.) | I will not have a leaf and take my hand to hold faeces. | I will not have the wherewithal at hand to do something and not use it, but continue to suffer. |
| A nↄ it bif, so a nↄ go pupu iya. (na udat it bif de shit iya) | I have not eaten meat so I will not excrete hair. | I have not committed the act which results in such consequences so I will not suffer those consequences. |
| Adu tɛnki nↄ bay plaba | How are you doing, thank you, does not lead to palaver/argument. | The exchange of pleasantries should not lead to confusion or disagreement. |
| Aks fↄ ed yu se yu go Gramma Skul | Ask for head, you say you went to The Grammar School | Instead of asking for good luck, you rely on your privileged background to succeed in life. |
| An go an kam | Hand go, hand come | Help is given and received. |
| Arata na big mↄreman, bↄt I nↄ go pre na pus kanda. | The rat is a big (important) muslim soothsayer, but it will not pray on a cat’s skin. | A person always knows, or should know how far he can dare. |
| Arata nↄ go kↄt nyanga usay pus de | A rat will not go showing off where there is a cat. | You will not go showing off where there are people who have the power to harm you. |
| As fↄ trↄbul bɛtɛ pas as fↄ bɛrin | Sympathy for trouble is better than sympathy for bereavement. | It is preferable to express sympathy for misfortune than for bereavement. |
| At nↄto bon | Heart is not bone. | There is a limit to what a person can take. |
| Aw di bata de bit, na so di egugu de dans. | How the bata (small drum) is beating, that’s how the egugu (masked devil) is dancing | For every action, there is an appropriate response. |
| Awuf nↄ gɛ bon | Something which is free and plentiful does not have any bone | When you have something freely and plentiful, you tend to use it recklessly |
| Ayɛn na in de kↄt ayɛn | Iron is what cuts iron | A tough opponent can only be defeated by someone of equal strength. |
| Aw yu mek yu bed, na so yu go ledↄm de | How you make your bed that’s how you will lie down in it. | You will suffer the consequences of your actions. |
| Aw fa kↄntintri to lɛmↄn gras | How far is the cotton tree from lemon grass. | There is a very wide social gap / difference between two people or thing |
