actions speak louder than words

English

Pronunciation

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Proverb

actions speak louder than words

1. It is more effective to act directly than to speak of action.
2. An individual's actions indicate their true sentiments more reliably than their claims do.

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “it is more effective to act directly”): the pen is mightier than the sword

Translations

it is more effective to act than speak

• Arabic: الْأَعْمَال أَعْلَى صَوْتًا مِن الْكَلِمَات (al-ʔaʕmāl ʔaʕlā ṣawtan min al-kalimāt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 行勝於言／行胜于言 (xíng shèng yú yán), 事實勝於雄辯／事实胜于雄辩 (zh) (shìshí shèng yú xióngbiàn)

• Dutch: geen woorden maar daden; daden zeggen meer dan woorden, niet lullen maar poetsen
• Finnish: teot puhuvat enemmän kuin sanat
• French: bien faire vaut mieux que bien dire (literally “doing well is better than talking well”)
• German: Taten statt Worte; Nägel mit Köpfen machen (de); Taten sagen mehr als Worte
• Hungarian: a tett harsányabb a szónál, a tettek minden szónál ékesebben beszélnek
• Japanese: 不言実行 (ja) (ふげんじっこう, fugenjikkō)
• Korean: 후겐 실행 (hugen silhaeng)
• Latin: rēs, nōn verba, Acta, non verba
• Polish: czyny mówią głośniej niż słowa
• Portuguese: ações falam mais alto que palavras
• Russian: не по слова́м су́дят, а по дела́м (ne po slovám súdjat, a po delám, literally “they judge not by words but by deeds”)
• Slovene: dejanja so močnejša od besed
• Spanish: obras son amores, que no buenas razones
• Vietnamese: thùng rỗng kêu to

actions indicate true sentiments

• Dutch: daden zeggen meer dan woorden
• Finnish: teot puhuvat enemmän kuin sanat
• German: Taten sagen mehr als Worte; an ihren Taten sollt ihr sie erkennen (literally “from their deeds you shall know them”)
• Indonesian: pangsa menunjukkan bangsa
• Scottish Gaelic: beul a labhras ach gnìomh a dhearbhas (literally “a mouth talks but a deed proves”), beul a labhras ach cridhe a dhearbhas
• Spanish: por sus frutos los conoceréis, el movimiento se demuestra andando

See also

• by their fruits you will know them
• facts speak louder than words
• money talks, bullshit walks
• suit the action to the word
• talk is cheap
• talk the talk
• acta, non verba

References

• “actions speak louder than words”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 2.