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Umntu ngumntu ngabantu.
Xhosa proverb · isiXhosa
Literally: “A person is a person through (other) people.”
Meaning: Our humanity is realised through our relationships with others; we become fully human in community. This is the linguistic distillation of ubuntu, the philosophy that personhood is constituted by interdependence, compassion and mutual recognition.
Background
A core Nguni proverb shared across isiXhosa and isiZulu, expressing the ethic of ubuntu/ubuntu-botho. It gained worldwide prominence through South Africa's post-apartheid moral discourse and the Truth and Reconciliation process, and is frequently cited by figures such as Desmond Tutu. It is widely treated as the foundational statement of African communal humanism.
How it is used
Invoked to appeal to generosity, hospitality, forgiveness and communal responsibility, and to remind someone that individual flourishing is bound up with the welfare of others. Common in sermons, funerals, community gatherings, civic and political speech.