Vaviri-vaviri wechitatu muzvinaguhwa.

Vanhu vaviri ndivo vanotaurirana vachinzwisisana. Pakava nowechitatu panenge pava nemakuhwa nekupokana. Pfimbi yemashoko inoda vaviri.

Two are a pair; a third person leads to slander or gossip

Normally, two friends do not divulge each other's secrets. They iron out all differences that may arise between the two of them. Involving a third person opens up the friendship to other challenges. Simply put, to keep a secret three people are too many!

The proverb is based on the notion that close relationships are built on trust and reciprocal security. Hence when two people either in a friendship or a marriage have challenges they are best trying to iron things out before bringing in a third person. The structure of the proverb makes it very instructive. It does not borrow from major imagery or observations of natural events. It would seem it was developed over years of observing relationships and as such must be taken in its literal sense.

This proverb is used to protect strong friendships and marriages. It teaches that whatever challenges two people may face in a close relationship it is best to keep their secrets with each other. Allowing a third party to intervene must be a last resort as the third party may use the information against them. In the case of marriage, our culture prescribes various people to overlook a marriage and only those people may intervene where there are challenges.