A word once spoken can never be recalled
Meaning: Choose your words carefully, for once said they cannot be unsaid.
Origin: The Roman poet Horace made the point twice: nescit vox missa reverti, a word once uttered cannot return (Ars Poetica), and semel emissum volat irrevocabile verbum, a word once let slip flies beyond recall (Epistles).
Equivalents in French, Spanish, and Japanese
- French: Un mot dit ne peut être repris (literally: A spoken word cannot be taken back)
- Spanish: Lo dicho, dicho está (literally: What is said is said)
- Japanese: 口から出た言葉は取り戻せない (Kuchi kara deta kotoba wa torimodosenai) (literally: Words that leave the mouth cannot be retrieved)
More proverbs about Communication
- Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see — Acts of kindness transcend words and communicate beyond all physical limitations.
- He who talks much errs much — The more you speak, the more likely you are to make mistakes or say the wrong thing.
- The tongue is the enemy of the neck — Careless speech can bring serious consequences upon the speaker.
- A gentle answer turns away wrath — Responding calmly to anger defuses conflict; harsh replies only escalate it.
- Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt — Staying quiet is often wiser than speaking and confirming your ignorance.
- Speak little, do much — Let your actions speak louder than your words; promise less and deliver more.
From our tongue twisters
- Stół z powyłamywanymi nogami. — Six words, almost no vowels — a single noun phrase that non-Polish speakers find impossib…
- 四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十。(Sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shísì shì shísì, sìshí shì sìshí.) — A pure sì/shí tone drill — the two numbers are near-identical and the tones swap each tim…
- 吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮，不吃葡萄倒吐葡萄皮。(Chī pútao bù tǔ pútao pí, bù chī pútao dào tǔ pútao pí.) — A 'pú/tǔ/pí' drill with reversing logic — the negations flip the meaning as the tongue tr…