It takes a village to raise a child
Meaning: Community support is essential for child development.
Origin: Usually called an African proverb, but the proverb scholar Wolfgang Mieder found no matching saying in any African language, and NPR could not pin down a source when it investigated in 2016. Scholars do point to similar ideas in Igbo and Yoruba sayings. The wording became famous through Hillary Clinton's 1996 book It Takes a Village.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Il faut tout un village pour élever un enfant (literally: It takes a whole village to raise a child)
- Spanish: Se necesita un pueblo entero para criar a un niño (literally: It takes a whole town to raise a child)
- Japanese: 子育ては村全体の仕事 (Kosodate wa mura zentai no shigoto) (literally: Raising children is the work of the whole village)
- German: Um ein Kind zu erziehen, braucht es ein ganzes Dorf (literally: To raise a child, a whole village is needed)
More proverbs about Human Nature
- One man's trash is another man's treasure — What one person discards, another may value.
- Absence makes the heart grow fonder — Being apart makes you appreciate someone more.
- There's no place like home — Home is where you feel most comfortable.
- You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink — You can offer help, but you can't force someone to accept it.
- Misery loves company — Unhappy people seek others who are also suffering.
- Out of sight, out of mind — We tend to forget things or people we don't see.
From our false friends
- Firma — Actually means 'signature'. Metti la tua firma = Put your signature here.
- Magazzino — Actually means 'warehouse' or 'storeroom'. A magazine (periodical) is una rivista.
- Conveniente — Actually means 'affordable', 'good value', or 'suitable'. È conveniente = It's a good dea…