Evil communications corrupt good manners.

Regular contact with harmful talk, conduct, or social influences can erode a person’s decent behaviour and moral habits. Here, “communications” can mean associations or interactions as well as messages, and “good manners” can include both courtesy and moral conduct.

It warns that repeated exposure to wrongdoing or degrading attitudes may make previously sound standards seem normal, weakening courtesy, discipline, and ethical judgment. The warning concerns the effects of influence and conduct, not a claim that any person or group is inherently bad.

Use this proverb in a moral or reflective discussion of influence, upbringing, peer pressure, or keeping good company. In its older wording, it cautions that harmful associations or interactions—not only messages or media—may gradually affect conduct and standards.