Boka ficadu ka ta ientra moska.
“No flies enter a closed mouth.”
Restraint in speech protects a person from the trouble that careless words can invite.
— Traditional Guinea-Bissau Wisdom, Guinea-Bissau
Source: Hildo Honório do Couto, "Provérbios Crioulo-Guineenses" (Guinea-Bissau Crioulo proverb collection), Departamento de Linguística, Universidade de Brasília
More Proverbs from Guinea-Bissau
Singing 'Halleluia' everywhere does not prove piety.
Loud public displays of religious devotion do not necessarily reflect genuine faith or character.
Saying that it's for her child, she gets herself a loaf of bread.
People sometimes use others, especially children, as a convenient excuse to serve their own wants.
What one hopes for is always better than what one has.
People tend to imagine that what they lack or wish for is more satisfying than what they already possess.
By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed.
Being slow to understand or act often means missing the opportunity entirely.
No one tests the depth of a river with both feet unless he is prepared to swim.
Only commit fully to a risk once you are ready to face its full consequences.
If all seeds that fall were to grow, then no one could follow the path under the trees.
Not every attempt or opportunity should succeed; some failure keeps balance and order in life.