actions speak louder than words

English

(antonym(s) of “it is more effective to act directly”): the pen is mightier than the sword

it is more effective to act than speak

Arabic: الْأَعْمَال أَعْلَى صَوْتًا مِن الْكَلِمَات (al-ʔaʕmāl ʔaʕlā ṣawtan min al-kalimāt)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 行勝於言／行胜于言 (xíng shèng yú yán), 事實勝於雄辯／事实胜于雄辩 (zh) (shìshí shèng yú xióngbiàn)
Dutch: geen woorden maar daden; daden zeggen meer dan woorden, niet lullen maar poetsen
Finnish: teot puhuvat enemmän kuin sanat
French: bien faire vaut mieux que bien dire (literally “doing well is better than talking well”)
German: Taten statt Worte; Nägel mit Köpfen machen (de); Taten sagen mehr als Worte
Hungarian: a tett harsányabb a szónál, a tettek minden szónál ékesebben beszélnek
Japanese: 不言実行 (ja) (ふげんじっこう, fugenjikkō)
Korean: 후겐 실행 (hugen silhaeng)
Latin: rēs, nōn verba, Acta, non verba
Polish: czyny mówią głośniej niż słowa
Portuguese: ações falam mais alto que palavras
Russian: не по слова́м су́дят, а по дела́м (ne po slovám súdjat, a po delám, literally “they judge not by words but by deeds”)
Slovene: dejanja so močnejša od besed
Spanish: obras son amores, que no buenas razones
Vietnamese: thùng rỗng kêu to

actions indicate true sentiments

Dutch: daden zeggen meer dan woorden
Finnish: teot puhuvat enemmän kuin sanat
German: Taten sagen mehr als Worte; an ihren Taten sollt ihr sie erkennen (literally “from their deeds you shall know them”)
Indonesian: pangsa menunjukkan bangsa
Scottish Gaelic: beul a labhras ach gnìomh a dhearbhas (literally “a mouth talks but a deed proves”), beul a labhras ach cridhe a dhearbhas
Spanish: por sus frutos los conoceréis, el movimiento se demuestra andando

“actions speak louder than words”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 2.

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