speech is silver, silence is golden

proverb

Not saying anything is often better than speaking too much or saying something inappropriate.

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Meanings

proverb

alternative speech is silver, but silence is golden · alternative speech is silver, silence is gold

  1. idiomaticNot saying anything is often better than speaking too much or saying something inappropriate.

Translations

Arabic إِنْ كَانَ الْكَلَامُ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ فَالسُّكُوتُ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ
  • إِنْ كَانَ الْكَلَامُ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ فَالسُّكُوتُ مِنْ ذَهَبٍproverb
Chinese Mandarin 雄辯是銀，沉默是金 /雄辩是银, 沉默是金
  • 雄辯是銀，沉默是金 /雄辩是银proverb
  • 沉默是金 (xióngbiàn shì yín, chénmò shì jīn)proverb
Czech mluviti stříbro, mlčeti zlato
  • mluviti stříbro, mlčeti zlatoproverb
Danish tale er sølv, tavshed er guld
  • tale er sølv, tavshed er guldproverb
Dutch spreken is zilver, zwijgen is goud
  • spreken is zilver, zwijgen is goudproverb
Finnish puhuminen on hopeaa, vaikeneminen kultaa
  • puhuminen on hopeaa, vaikeneminen kultaaproverb
French la parole est d’argent, le silence est d’or
  • la parole est d’argent, le silence est d’orproverb
German Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist Gold
  • Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist Goldproverb
Italian la parola è d'argento, il silenzio è d'oro
  • la parola è d'argento, il silenzio è d'oroproverb
Japanese 雄弁は銀、沈黙は金
  • 雄弁は銀、沈黙は金 (yūben wa gin, chinmoku wa kin)proverb
Polish mowa jest srebrem, a milczenie złotem
  • mowa jest srebrem, a milczenie złotemproverb
Portuguese a palavra é de prata, o silêncio é de ouro
  • a palavra é de prata, o silêncio é de ouroproverb
Slovak hovoriť striebro, mlčať zlato
  • hovoriť striebro, mlčať zlatoproverb
Swedish tala är silver, tiga är guld
  • tala är silver, tiga är guldproverb
Thai พูดไปสองไพเบี้ย นิ่งเสียตำลึงทอง
  • พูดไปสองไพเบี้ย นิ่งเสียตำลึงทอง (pûut-bpai-sɔ̌ɔng-pai-bîia-nîng-sǐia-dtam-lʉng-tɔɔng)proverb
Turkish söz gümüşse, sükût altındır
  • söz gümüşse, sükût altındırproverb
Cite this entry
APA

speech is silver, silence is golden. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speech%20is%20silver%2C%20silence%20is%20golden

MLA

“speech is silver, silence is golden.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speech%20is%20silver%2C%20silence%20is%20golden. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “speech is silver, silence is golden,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speech%20is%20silver%2C%20silence%20is%20golden.

Source: speech is silver, silence is golden on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.