🗣️ South Africa: “A person is a person through other people”

Zulu / Xhosa proverb · Africa

Umntu ngumntu ngabantu.

umntu ngumntu ngabantu

“A person is a person through other people”

The heart of ubuntu: our humanity is made in community — we exist through and because of one another.

About this proverb

This saying belongs to the oral tradition of South Africa, a country in Africa. Read the full collection of South Africa proverbs, or explore the Proverbs of the World index.

Proverbs are traditional folk heritage (public domain); the translation and explanation are our own plain-English rendering. Stored statically.

Traditional sayings from around the world, each with its original wording, a romanisation, a plain-English translation and what it really means.

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