Meanings
- idiomaticOne needs to see something in order to believe it; visible facts cannot be denied.
They said their product will be ready for shipment in two months and we could even "take that to the bank", but we’ve heard that before. Seeing is believing.
2 more examples
There is nothing like Matter of Fact; Seeing is Believing.
1712, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], “How Lewis Baboon Came to Visit John Bull, and What Pass’d between Them”, in Lewis Baboon Turned Honest, and John Bull Politician. Being the Fourth Part of Law is a Bottomless-Pit. […], London: […] John Morphew, […], →OCLC, page 21Seeing is believing, says the proverb. Though, of all our senses, the eyes are the most easily deceived, we believe them in preference to any other evidence.
1848, J. C., A. W. Hare, Guesses at Truth, second edition, page 497
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 百聞不如一見 /百闻不如一见, 眼见为实
- 百聞不如一見 /百闻不如一见 (bǎi wén bùrú yī jiàn)one needs to see something to believe it
- 眼见为实one needs to see something to believe it
Dutch eerst zien, dan geloven, zien is geloven
- eerst zien, dan gelovenone needs to see something to believe it
- zien is gelovenone needs to see something to believe it
- eerst zien, dan gelovenshow of skepticism about a claim
- zien is gelovenshow of skepticism about a claim
Finnish uskoo, ken näkee
- uskoo, ken näkeeone needs to see something to believe it
French une image vaut mille mots, il faut le voir pour le croire
- une image vaut mille motsone needs to see something to believe it
- il faut le voir pour le croireone needs to see something to believe it
German ein Bild sagt mehr als tausend Worte
- ein Bild sagt mehr als tausend Worteone needs to see something to believe it
Hungarian hiszem, ha látom, majd meglátjuk
- hiszem, ha látomshow of skepticism about a claim
- majd meglátjukshow of skepticism about a claim
- várjuk ki a végétshow of skepticism about a claim
Icelandic sjón er sögu ríkari
- sjón er sögu ríkarione needs to see something to believe it
Irish déanann fearann fianaise, déanann feiceáil fírinne
- déanann fearann fianaiseone needs to see something to believe it
- déanann feiceáil fírinneone needs to see something to believe it
Italian vedere per credere
- vedere per credereone needs to see something to believe it
Japanese 百聞は一見に如かず
- 百聞は一見に如かず (hyakubun wa ikken ni shikazu)one needs to see something to believe it
Korean 백문불여일견
- 백문불여일견 (baengmunburyeoilgyeon)one needs to see something to believe it
Latin videre est credere
- videre est credereone needs to see something to believe it
Portuguese ver é crer
- ver é crerone needs to see something to believe it
Russian лу́чше оди́н раз уви́деть, чем сто раз услы́шать, пока́ не уви́жу, не пове́рю
- лу́чше оди́н раз уви́деть, чем сто раз услы́шать (lúčše odín raz uvídetʹ, čem sto raz uslýšatʹ)one needs to see something to believe it
- пока́ не уви́жу, не пове́рю (poká ne uvížu, ne povérju)one needs to see something to believe it
Scottish Gaelic b' fheàrr leam fhaicinn na a chluinntinn
- b' fheàrr leam fhaicinn na a chluinntinnone needs to see something to believe it
Spanish ver para creer
- ver para creerone needs to see something to believe it
Swedish det tror jag när jag ser det
- det tror jag när jag ser detone needs to see something to believe it
Thai สิบปากว่าไม่เท่าตาเห็น
- สิบปากว่าไม่เท่าตาเห็น (sìp-bpàak-wâa-mâi-tâo-dtaa-hěn)one needs to see something to believe it
Vietnamese trăm nghe không bằng mắt thấy, tai nghe không bằng mắt thấy
- trăm nghe không bằng mắt thấyone needs to see something to believe it
- tai nghe không bằng mắt thấyone needs to see something to believe it
- trăm nghe không bằng một thấyone needs to see something to believe it
Cite this entry
seeing is believing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seeing%20is%20believing
“seeing is believing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seeing%20is%20believing. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “seeing is believing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seeing%20is%20believing.
Source: seeing is believing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.