actions speak louder than words

English

Proverb

actions speak louder than words

1. It is more effective to act directly than to speak of action.
2. A person’s actions indicate their true sentiments more reliably than their claims do.

Antonyms

• (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-ʾaʿmāl ʾaʿlā ṣawtan min al-kalimāt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 行勝於言, 行胜于言 (xíng shèng yú yán), 事實勝於雄辯 (zh), 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 (lit. doing well is better than talking well)
• German: Taten statt Worte; Nägel mit Köpfen machen (de); Taten sagen mehr als Worte
• Japanese: 不言実行 (ja) (ふげんじっこう, fugenjikkō)

• Korean: 후겐 실행 (hugen silhaeng)
• Latin: rēs, nōn 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)
• Slovene: dejanja so močnejša od besed
• Spanish: obras son amores, que no buenas razones

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
• Spanish: por sus frutos los conoceréis

See also

• by their fruits you will know them
• facts speak louder than words
• money talks, bullshit walks
• talk is cheap
• talk the talk

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 2.