proverb · Legacy record
To speak is to sow and to listen is to reap.
To speak is to sow and to listen is to reap.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Speaking as sowing and listening as reaping give communication two complementary roles. The saying pictures sharing words as planting and receiving them as gathering a benefit.
What the words are saying
The analogy does not guarantee that every statement teaches something useful. A responsible reading values attentive listening while checking what is heard and allowing response. Communication can be mutual rather than assigning one person a permanent speaker role and another silence.
Everyday example
Two colleagues exchange explanations and listen for what each can learn from the other.
When to use it
Use it to discuss both expression and attentive reception.
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What it does not mean
Listening does not guarantee reliable knowledge or require unquestioning acceptance.
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 416; PDF page 40; collection label: Mongolia
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Mongolia