- English translation
Talk too much and people think less of you.
- Literal wording
Much talk lessens the worth.
- Meaning and lesson
The proverb holds that a person who talks endlessly gradually loses the regard of others. Words that flow without restraint begin to seem cheap, and the speaker's dignity and authority shrink along with them.
Although the word for worth is also everyday vocabulary for price, the loss here is social rather than material: it concerns the respect and gravity a person commands in company. Speech and esteem are pictured as moving in opposite directions, so the more someone chatters, the less weight they carry.
- When it is used
Use it to caution someone whose excessive talking is weakening the respect others have for them, or to explain why a habitually talkative person no longer carries much weight in company. The saying can also serve as a reminder to speak with restraint.
- Register
- Colloquial, as the dialectal spelling and verb forms show
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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