Sayings about Words
Words go further than bullets. ~ Malagasy Proverb
A healthy ear can stand hearing sick words. ~ Senegalese Proverb
Wisdom consists of ten parts — nine parts of silence and one part with few words. ~ Arabian Proverb
Mere words do not feed the friars. ~ Irish Proverb
Words are but dwarfs, deeds are giants. ~ Swiss Proverb
Fine words do not produce food. ~ Nigerian Proverb
You have two ears, but you never hear words twice. ~ Surinamese Proverb
If your strength is small, don’t carry heavy burdens. If your words are worthless, don’t give advice. ~ Chinese Proverb
Faith and dishonesty are other words for uselessness. ~ Chinese Proverb
There are many words that are like salted jam. ~ Turkish Proverb
The words of tongue should have three gate keepers. ~ Saudi Arabian Proverb
The stomach is not content with nice words. ~ Norwegian Proverb
Words die and men keep on living. ~ Jamaican Proverb
Cold hearts can find warm words. ~ Tibetan Proverb
It is worse to be wounded by words than a sword. ~ Moroccan Proverb
A word in earnest is as good as a speech. ~ Charles Dickens
He need not search his pockets for words. ~ Russian Proverb
Words are sweet but they can never replace food. ~ Nigerian Proverb
Deeds are fruits, words are only leaves. ~ Greek Proverb
The body pays for a slip of the foot, and gold pays for a slip of the tongue. ~ Malaysian Proverb
Words from the heart reach the heart, words from the mouth reach the ear. ~ Arabian Proverb
Friendly words are convincing. ~ Indian Proverb
A silent man’s words are not brought into court. ~ Danish Proverb
Kind words will unlock an iron door. ~ Kurdish Proverb
Don’t speak sweet words when your deeds are of stone. ~ Turkish Proverb
Actions speak louder than words. ~ English Proverb
Enter alcohol, exit words. ~ Vietnamese Proverb
Rebuke with soft words and hard arguments. ~ Traditional Proverb
The wound of words is worse than the wound of swords. ~ Saudi Arabian Proverb
Nice words are free, so choose ones that please another’s ears. ~ Vietnamese Proverb
When God wants to punish an idiot, He teaches them a few words of Hebrew. ~ Yiddish Proverb
Words in mouth, no load upon head. ~ Jamaican Proverb
Words have no wings but they can fly many thousands of miles. ~ Korean Proverb
Kind words conquer. ~ Tamil Proverb
A statement once let loose cannot be caught by four horses. ~ Japanese Proverb
Not all the words that were ever uttered are worth weighing on golden scales. ~ Norwegian Proverb
The cheese vessel will not sail merely by words. ~ Turkish Proverb
Soft words butter no parsnips, but they won’t harden the heart of the cabbage either. ~ Irish Proverb
Soft words win hard hearts. ~ Traditional Proverb
Words will not pollute the soup. ~ Brazilian Proverb
Quarrels end, but words once spoken never die. ~ Sierra Leonean Proverb
Many words do not fill a basket. ~ Beninese Proverb
Unspoken words cannot be noted. ~ Sicilian Proverb
With a walking-stick you reach many lands; you reach many more with words. ~ Finnish Proverb
Truthful words are seldom pleasant. ~ Japanese Proverb
If your heart is a rose, then your mouth will speak perfumed words. ~ Russian Proverb
Hold on tight to the words of your ancestors. ~ New Zealander Proverb
One picture is worth a thousand words. ~ English Proverb
If you wish to know the mind of a man, listen to his words. ~ Chinese Proverb
Kind words are worth much and they cost little. ~ Traditional Proverb
A wise man hears one word and understands two. ~ Yiddish Proverb
Silence is more than just a lack of words. ~ Egyptian Proverb
Words are mere bubbles of water; deeds are drops of gold. ~ Tibetan Proverb
Unspoken words are the flowers of silence. ~ Japanese Proverb
Too many words blacken your ears, ~ Burundi Proverb
Stones decay; words last. ~ Samoan Proverb
Buffaloes are held by ropes, man by his words. ~ Malawian Proverb
Words do not fill your purse. ~ Lithuanian Proverb
All food is fit to eat, but not all words are fit to speak. ~ Haitian Proverb
Words that come from the heart stay warm three winters long. ~ Chinese Proverb
The fewer the words, the better the prayer. ~ German Proverb
There are many people who can sing, but don’t know the words. ~ Indian Proverb
Where there is a glut of words, there is a dearth of intelligence. ~ Indian Proverb
Truth does not need many words. ~ Russian Proverb
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. ~ Traditional Proverb
The word of the king is the king of words. ~ Arabian Proverb
Often a silent face has voice and words. ~ Latin Proverb
When deeds speak, words are nothing. ~ African Proverb
Of words and feathers, it takes many to make a pound. ~ German Proverb
Use soft words and hard arguments. ~ English Proverb
One who speaks fair words feeds you with an empty spoon. ~ Italian Proverb
Big words seldom accompany good deeds. ~ Danish Proverb
The sweetness of food doesn’t last long, but the sweetness of good words do. ~ Thai Proverb
Great events may stem from words of no importance. ~ Congolese Proverb
A man with two ears can be supported by two words. ~ Egyptian Proverb
Speak plain — call bread bread, and wine wine. ~ Mexican Proverb
You can live with tea and cold rice but not with cold words. ~ Chinese Proverb
Do not use words that are too big for your mouth. ~ Iranian Proverb
Say but little, and say it well. ~ Irish Proverb
With tender words you have less luck with a woman than with jewels. ~ Berber Proverb
Friendship is not born of words alone. ~ Armenian Proverb
Words are feminine, deeds masculine. ~ French Proverb
Even though words have no wings, they can still fly a thousand miles. ~ Korean Proverb
Friendly words gain much and cost nothing. ~ Spanish Proverb
Words are like newly hatched eggs: they already have wings. ~ Malagasy Proverb
Say nothing when you are giving — only say something when you are receiving. ~ Spanish Proverb
Good words cool more than cold water. ~ English Proverb
Words are like the spider’s web: a shelter for the clever ones and a trap for the not-so-clever. ~ Malagasy Proverb
Words are like spears: Once they leave your lips they can never come back. ~ Beninese Proverb
Fair words can buy a horse on credit. ~ Trinidadian Proverb
It is easier to catch an escaped horse than to take back an escaped word. ~ Mongolian Proverbs
A woman’s strength is a multitude of words. ~ African Proverb
Polite words open iron gates. ~ Croatian Proverb
A knife wound heals; a wound caused by words does not. ~ Turkish Proverb
A word from the mouth is like a stone from a sling. ~ Spanish Proverb
A round egg can be made square according to how you cut it; words would be harsh according to how you speak them. ~ Japanese Proverb
Water and words are easy to pour but impossible to recover. ~ Chinese Proverb
Judge a man not by the words of his mother, but from the comments of his neighbors. ~ Hebrew Proverb
Cold tea and cold rice are bearable, but cold looks and cold words are not. ~ Japanese Proverb
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. ~ Bible Proverbs
Words must be weighed not counted. ~ Spanish Proverb
Rather weigh the will of the speaker, than the worth of the words. ~ English Proverbs
A bad cause requires many words. ~ German Proverbs
The world can be conquered with words, but not withdrawn swords. ~ Georgian Proverbs
Give your ears to words but do not give your words to ears. ~ Hindustani Proverb
Quotations about Words
It would be well for us all, old and young, to remember that our words and actions, ay, and our thoughts also, are set upon never-stopping wheels, rolling on and on unto the pathway of eternity. ~ Margaret Maria Brewster
The right word is always a power, and communicates its definiteness to our action. ~ George Eliot
The idea that everything is purposeful really changes the way you live. To think that everything that you do has a ripple effect, that every word that you speak, every action that you make affects other people and the planet. ~ Victoria Moran
Words have a magical power. They can bring either the greatest happiness or deepest despair; they can transfer knowledge from teacher to student; words enable the orator to sway his audience and dictate its decisions. Words are capable of arousing the strongest emotions and prompting all men’s actions. ~ Sigmund Freud
Love is cheering and sharing and compassion and giving and receiving. Love is an action thing more than a word thing, that brings comfort or joy or relief to anyone or anything. ~ Ziggy Marley
Words are no longer enough. It is time for action. This is the first genocide of the 21 st century. The world has said, ‘Never again.’ Those words must mean something. ~ Jim McGovern
The views of men can only be known, or guessed at, by their words or actions. ~ George Washington
Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Every word, movement and action has an effect. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than the parent. ~ Bob Keeshan
Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement. ~ Alfred Adler
We have too many high-sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them. ~ Abigail Adams
I’m pleased that those that are signing on will not only be making a promise, but will be putting their actions behind their words. ~ Alan Rupe
What a man does is the real test of what a man is. ~ William Mathews
Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance, that you o’erstep not the modesty of nature. ~ William Shakespeare
We should be as careful of our words as of our actions, and as far from speaking ill as from doing ill. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero
Words may show a man’s wit but actions his meaning. ~ Benjamin Franklin
