proverb · Words worth keeping
Better untaught than ill-taught.
Better untaught than ill-taught.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Poor instruction can leave someone with mistakes that need to be unlearned. The saying warns about teaching quality rather than making ignorance an ideal.
Example
A learner checks a confusing explanation against reliable material and corrects the mistaken part.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The contrast treats faulty learning as potentially worse than not having received that lesson. It can prompt attention to evidence, clear explanation and the learner’s questions. Yet even incomplete teaching may contain useful elements, and lack of access to education is not an advantage in itself. A careful application identifies the error and seeks a better account instead of dismissing all learning after one poor experience.
When to use it
Use it to examine teaching that introduces a specific misunderstanding.
Keep in mind
Imperfect instruction can still be improved; ignorance is not a general advantage.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English