proverb · Legacy record
It is easier to catch a runaway horse than to take back a spoken word.
It is easier to catch a runaway horse than to take back a spoken word.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A runaway horse easier to recover than a spoken word gives speech lasting consequences through an exaggerated pursuit comparison. The saying values thought before speaking.
What the words are saying
The image is not a measured retrieval claim or animal-handling advice. A useful reading considers how words may persist after they are heard or repeated. Correction and apology can still matter; difficulty undoing speech does not make repair futile.
Everyday example
Someone corrects an inaccurate statement promptly rather than assuming an apology cannot help.
When to use it
Use it to discuss careful speech and worthwhile repair.
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What it does not mean
No horse-recovery procedure or impossibility of repairing spoken harm is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
Mongolia
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.- Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 398; PDF page 39; collection label: Mongolia
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Mongolia