Beauty not only describes the outside appearance of someone, but the character and personality. Most of the African proverbs listed here deal with a person's inner beauty in contrast to their outer beauty.


One who plants grapes by the road side, and one who marries a pretty woman, share the same problem. ~Ethiopian Proverb

Beautiful from behind, ugly in front. ~Uganda Proverb

The skin of the leopard is beautiful, but not his heart. ~Baluba proverb

Ugliness with a good character is better than beauty. ~Nigerian Proverb

A beautiful one hurts the heart. ~African Proverb

Anyone who sees beauty and does not look at it will soon be poor. ~Yoruba Proverb

The surface of the water is beautiful, but it is no good to sleep on. ~Ghanaian Proverb

If there is character, ugliness becomes beauty; if there is none, beauty becomes ugliness. ~Nigerian Proverb

You are beautiful, but learn to work, for you cannot eat your beauty. ~Congolese Proverb

The one who loves an unsightly person is the one who makes him beautiful. ~Ganda Proverb

Having beauty doesn't mean understanding the perseverance of marriage. ~African Proverb

You are beautiful because of your possessions. ~Baguirmi Proverb

Every woman is beautiful until she speaks. ~Zimbabwean Proverb

Three things cause sorrow to flee; water, green trees, and a beautiful face. ~Moroccan Proverb

A beautiful thing is never perfect. ~Egyptian Proverb

Patience is the mother of a beautiful child. ~Bantu Proverb

There is no beauty but the beauty of action. ~Moroccan Proverb

Judge not your beauty by the number of people who look at you, but rather by the number of people who smile at you. ~African Proverb

A pretty face and fine clothes do not make character. ~Congolese Proverb

Youth is beauty, even in cattle. ~Egyptian Proverb

A pretty basket does not prevent worries. ~Congolese Proverb

It's those ugly caterpillars that turn into beautiful butterflies after seasons. ~African Proverb

The most beautiful fig may contain a worm. ~Zulu Proverb

It is only a stupid cow that rejoices at the prospect of being taken to a beautiful abattoir. ~African Proverb

A woman who pursues a man for sex loses her spiritual beauty. ~African Proverb

A chicken with beautiful plumage does not sit in a corner. ~African Proverb

The cook does not have to be a beautiful woman. ~Shona Proverb

Beautiful words don't put porridge in the pot. ~Botswana Proverb

She is beautiful; she has love, understands; she respects herself and others; everyone likes, loves and honors her; she is a goddess. ~African Proverb

There is always a winner even in a monkey's beauty contest. ~African Proverb

Dress up a stick and it'll be a beautiful bride. ~Egyptian Proverb

An ugly child of your own is more to you than a beautiful one belonging to your neighbor. ~Ganda Proverb

Even the colors of a chameleon are for survival not beauty. ~African Proverb

Beautiful discourse is rarer than emerald ~ yet it can be found among the servant girls at the grindstones. ~Egyptian Proverb

When a once-beautiful piece of cloth has turned into rags, no one remembers that it was woven by Ukwa master weavers. ~Igbo Proverb

A woman's polite devotion is her greatest beauty. ~African Proverb

There are many colorful flowers on the path of life, but the prettiest have the sharpest thorns. ~African Proverb

He who marries a beauty marries trouble. ~Nigerian Proverb

Despite the beauty of the moon, sun and the stars, the sky also has a threatening thunder and striking lightening. ~African Proverb

Getting only a beautiful woman is like planting a vine on the roadside everyone feeds on it. ~African Proverb

Greatness and beauty do not belong to the gods alone. ~Nigerian Proverb

No matter how beautiful and well crafted a coffin might look, it will not make anyone wish for death. ~African Proverb

Roosters' tail feathers: pretty but always behind. ~Malagasy Proverb

Beauty is not sold and eaten. ~Nigerian Proverb

She is like a road -- pretty, but crooked. ~Cameroonian Proverb

Why they like an ugly person it takes long for a beautiful person to know it. ~African Proverb

If you find "Miss This Year" beautiful, then you'll find "Miss Next Year" even more so. ~Nigerian Proverb

The beauty of a woman becomes useless if there is no one to admire it. ~African Proverb


I highly recommend Lifelines: The Black Book of Proverbs if you enjoy these proverbs.