Dicho español · Spanish proverb

«Por la boca muere el pez.»

Word for word

By the mouth dies the fish.

What it really means

The closest English equivalent: Loose lips sink ships.

Used to warn that talking too much or revealing secrets can get you into trouble. It's often said when someone exposes information they should have kept to themselves.

Hear it in a sentence

Por la boca muere el pez; no le cuentes tus planes a todo el mundo.

Loose lips sink ships; don't tell your plans to everyone.

Why learn dichos?

Proverbs like this one are everywhere in spoken Spanish — dropped mid-conversation, usually just the first half, with the rest left for you to complete. Recognizing them is one of the fastest ways to sound less like a textbook and follow real speech. Every Lingocito edition signs off with the dicho del día, so you meet one a day next to news written at your exact level.

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