Muromo hauzarirwi nerwizi

Kutaura hakuperi asi kuita zvataurwa kana zvavimbiswa hakusi nyore.

The mouth cannot be filled by a river.

Saying something is one thing but doing it is another. Simply put, some things are easier said than done. In other words, talk is cheap.

After a storm or heavy rains, rivers sometimes overflow to the extent that people fail to cross the rivers to reach their intended destinations. Such rivers would ended up filling a dam or lake further downstream or eventually finding their way to the ocean. Once a dam or lake gets too full it has no choice but to spill over and start other rivers that will follow the same course. Observing this, our elders realized that words are not like the river is to the lakes. The mouth can never be filled with words and will continue to speak and give promises and make various undertakings without these spilling over into action.

The proverb is used in observing people who are good at talking about good intentions yet they are unable to act on their words. The proverb also applies to individuals or institutions who fail to deliver on their promises and can be used to rebut promises or as commentary after promises have been broken.