Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Why do we say "Those who know don't speak; those who speak don't know"?

Well-Known Expressions

Those who know don't speak; those who speak don't know

Meaning:

Knowledgeable people don't feel the need to talk all the time while those who are ignorant offer an opinion on everything.

Background:

This proverb originates in China and is said to be from the mouth of the ancient Chinese philosopher and founder of philosophical Taoism, Laozi

Traditionally, Laozi is thought to have lived during the 6th-century BC, but some modern historians think that he lived about two centuries later in the 4th century BC. His name, which means Old Master, is also found translated in English as Lao-Tze and Lao-Tzu, with and without hyphen.

More expressions and their source

Challenge yourself with BookBrowse Wordplays

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Our Evenings
    Our Evenings
    by Alan Hollinghurst
    Alan Hollinghurst's novel Our Evenings is the fictional autobiography of Dave Win, a British ...
  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.