still waters run deep

English

Alternative forms

• still water runs deep

Etymology

Of Latin origin, but possibly popularized by William Shakespeare, c. 1590, in "Henry VI," part 2, act 3, scene 1:

Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep;

And in his simple show he harbours treason.

Proverb

still waters run deep

1. A person with a calm appearance has, or may have, considerable inner emotion, character, or intellect.
   • 1822, Catharine Maria Sedgwick, A New-England Tale:

     I always knew she was an artful jade; 'still waters run deep;' but she shall be exposed, the mask shall be stripped from the hypocrite.

   • 1885, Thomas Hardy, A Mere Interlude:

     But still waters run deep; and no crisis had come in the years of her early maidenhood to demonstrate what lay hidden within her, like metal in a mine.

   • 1903, Samuel Butler, chapter 58, in The Way of All Flesh:

     Baxter had never known of any goings on in that quarter, but, bless you, still waters run deep, and these girls were all alike, one as bad as the other.

   • 2003 June 8, Alice Elliott Dark, “Book Review: Rainy Day Woman”, in New York Times, retrieved 9 July 2008:

     Isabel Pierce, the central character of Sweetwater, Roxana Robinson's fluid third novel, gives the appearance of being a thoughtful, reserved, quiet woman who won't rock any boats in her life. Yet she harbors passions; it might be said of her that still waters run deep.

Translations

a person's calm appearance may be misleading

• Arabic:

  Moroccan Arabic: دوز على لواد لهرهوري ولا تدوز على لواد سّكوتي (duz ʕla l-uwad l-hərhuri ula t-duz ʕla l-uwad s-skuti)

• Bashkir: йыуаштан йыуан сыға (yıwaştan yıwan sığa)
• Belarusian: у ціхім балоце чэрці вядуцца (u cixim balócje čerci vjaducca)
• Bulgarian: ти́хите води́ са на́й-дълбо́ки (tíhite vodí sa náj-dǎlbóki)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 靜水流深／静水流深 (jìngshuǐlíushēn)

• Czech: tichá voda břehy mele (cs)
• Danish: det stille vand har den dybe grund
• Dutch: stille wateren hebben diepe gronden
• Finnish: syvissä vesissä ne isot kalat uivat
• French: il faut se méfier de l’eau qui dort (fr) (literally “one must not trust the water that sleeps”)
• German: stille Wasser sind tief (de), stille Wasser gründen tief (de)
• Greek: τα σιγανά ποταμάκια να φοβάσαι (ta siganá potamákia na fovásai)
• Hungarian: lassú víz partot mos (hu)
• Indonesian: air tenang menghanyutkan (id)
• Italian: l'acqua cheta rompe i ponti
• Japanese: 能ある鷹は爪を隠す (ja) (のう-ある-たか-は-つめ-を-かく-す　nō aru taka wa tsume o kakusu)
• Malay: diam-diam ubi berisi, diam-diam besi berkarat (literally “a hidden tuber bulks, a hidden piece of iron rusts”)
• Norwegian: det stille vann har den dype grunn
• Polish: cicha woda brzegi rwie (pl)
• Russian: в ти́хом о́муте че́рти во́дятся (ru) (v tíxom ómute čérti vódjatsja, literally “in a quiet slough devils are found”), тихая вода́ берега подмывает (tixaja vodá berega podmyvajet)
• Serbo-Croatian: tiha voda brijege dere, тиха вода брег рони
• Spanish: las aguas quietas calan hondo
• Swedish: i de lugnaste vattnen går de största fiskarna
• Thai: น้ำนิ่งไหลลึก (th) (náam-nîng-lǎi-lʉ́k)
• Ukrainian: тиха вода греблю рве (tyxa voda hreblju rve)
• Walloon: c'est todi l'aiwe ki doime ki neye, i s'fåt dmefiyî des coetès aiwes, i n'a rén d'pé ki l'coete aiwe

See also

• empty vessels make the most noise
• the calm before the storm

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, page 308.

Anagrams

• still water runs deep