proverb · Legacy record
Show me your friend and I will show you your character.
Show me your friend and I will show you your character.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying claims to reveal character by seeing a person’s friend. It treats an association as evidence about the individual.
What the words are saying
The assured reveal goes beyond what companionship can prove. A critical explanation considers influence without adopting guilt by association or the supplied claim that friends expose concealed behavior. A person’s own actions and the nature of the relationship need examination.
Everyday example
A reader asks what someone actually did instead of inferring it solely from their companion.
When to use it
Use it to examine a character inference from association critically.
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What it does not mean
A friend’s conduct does not establish another person’s character or hidden actions.
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
- Not established
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 proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 713; PDF page 102
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.