proverb · Words worth keeping
Don’t talk much; your ignorance is greater than your knowledge.
Don’t talk much; your ignorance is greater than your knowledge.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Speaking less because ignorance exceeds knowledge recommends restraint through a broad judgment of what a person knows. The saying questions confident expression without understanding.
Example
Someone states what they know and asks about the gap instead of presenting an uncertain claim as settled.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
A critical reading does not make quietness a proof of wisdom or assign worth by how much someone knows. Questions and discussion can support learning. A useful application makes uncertainty clear and checks claims without silencing necessary concerns or treating a learner as unworthy of speech.
When to use it
Use it to encourage qualified claims without silencing learning or concerns.
Keep in mind
No knowledge ranking by speaking frequency or duty of silence is established.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
Spain
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.- Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- Spain