less is more

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /lɛs ɪz ˈmɔː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /lɛs ɪz ˈmɔɹ/

Proverb

less is more

1. (paradox, oxymoron) That which is of smaller quantity could be of higher quality.
2. That which is less complicated is often better understood and more appreciated than what is more complicated; brevity in communication is more effective than verbosity.
   • 1855, Robert Browning, "Andrea del Sarto" poem in Men and Women collection:

     Well, less is more, Lucrezia: I am judged.

   • 1954 June 14, “‘Less Is More’”, in Time:

     The essence of Mies's architectural philosophy is in his famous and sometimes derided phrase, "Less is more." This means, he says, having "the greatest effect with the least means."

   • 2007 March 3, Gia Kourlas, “Dance Review: An Ordered World Defined With Soothing Spareness”, in New York Times, retrieved 22 October 2008:

     The program, which features two premieres—"Songs," a solo, and "The Pleasure of Stillness," a quartet—is founded on the notion that less is more.

Usage notes

• This was the motto of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a proponent of minimalism in architecture.

Synonyms

• a little goes a long way (some contexts)

Antonyms

• less is a bore
• more is more

Translations

less is more

• Arabic: الْأَقَلّ هُوَ الْأَكْثَر m (al-ʔaqall huwa l-ʔakṯar), الْقُلَّى هِيَ الْكُثْرَى f (al-qullā hiya l-kuṯrā)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 少即是多 (shǎojíshìduō), 物以稀为贵 (zh) (wùyǐxīwéiguì)

• Czech: méně je více
• Dutch: minder is meer
• Finnish: vähemmän on enemmän
• French: moins, c’est plus
• German: weniger ist mehr
• Greek: ουκ εν τω πολλώ το ευ (el) (ouk en to polló to ef)

  Ancient: οὐκ ἐν τῷ πολλῷ τὸ εὖ (ouk en tôi pollôi tò eû)

• Korean: 적은 것이 더 많다 (jeogeun geosi deo manta)
• Persian: هرچه کمتربهتر
• Polish: mniej znaczy więcej
• Portuguese: menos é mais
• Scottish Gaelic: is fheàrr an teine beag a gharas na an teine mòr a loisgeas
• Swedish: less is more, mindre är mer (literally, but more common as an untranslated loan)