ProverbCommunication
English origin1693
English origin1693Actions speak louder than words
Meaning: What you do matters more than what you say.
Often credited to: No single author: John Pym (1628) and Thomas Manton (1693) first put it this way
Example: “He keeps promising to change, but actions speak louder than words.”
Origin: The parliamentarian John Pym said in 1628 that actions are more precious than words. The preacher Thomas Manton wrote in 1693 of actions "which speak much louder than words," and the exact modern form appears in a Massachusetts pamphlet of 1736.
Equivalents in Spanish, German, and Turkish
Spanish: Obras son amores, que no buenas razones (literally: Deeds are love, not fine words)
German: Taten sagen mehr als Worte (literally: Deeds say more than words)
Turkish: Lafla peynir gemisi yürümez (literally: A cheese ship doesn't sail on talk)
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