- English translation
Never put your trust in a human being.
- Literal wording
Do not trust the one with a black head.
- Meaning and lesson
This saying advises against placing confidence in people at all. 'The black-headed one' is a figurative label for any human being, built with 'abu' in the sense of 'the one with', not a literal father, and it refers to people in general, not to any race or group. The warning portrays everyone as liable to betray whoever relies on them.
The statement is intentionally overstated. Its sweeping scope is what gives it bite: by refusing to exempt anyone, it turns an ordinary note of caution into a stark, distrustful judgment about all the people one deals with.
- When it is used
Fits moments when a speaker wants to warn someone, bluntly and with open cynicism, against trusting others too readily. Because it condemns people wholesale, it comes across as a bitter generalization rather than measured, balanced advice.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Never put your trust in a human being.