proverb · Words worth keeping
You are never to old to learn.
You are never to old to learn.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying rejects age as an automatic reason to stop learning. It encourages openness to new understanding later in life.
What the words are saying
The source’s to wording is retained while the sense concerns being too old. A useful reading invites learning opportunities suited to a person rather than promising every task is equally accessible at every age. Support, interests and circumstances matter; the phrase should not turn difficulty into blame.
Everyday example
An older learner chooses a new subject and asks for an approach that suits their circumstances.
When to use it
Use it to encourage learning without an age-based dismissal.
What it does not mean
No uniform learning capacity or guaranteed success at every task 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
- 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 397; PDF page 59
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.