Quotes from great people in English with translation
Famous people leave their mark on the earth not only through their actions.
Sometimes the random words of an artist or entrepreneur can turn into famous phrases and spread throughout the world in English. These famous phrases in English can be used to motivate colleagues to new results or inspire loved ones on any suitable occasion.
- Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time. — The secret of success is not in not making mistakes, but in not repeating the same mistakes twice (Bernard Shaw).
- Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. — Simplicity is the highest degree of sophistication (Leonardo da Vinci).
- There are three things which the superior man guards against. In youth…lust. When he is strong…quarrelsomeness. When he is old…covetousness. — A reasonable person avoids three things in life. In youth - lust. In maturity - quarrelsomeness. In old age - greed (Confucius).
- Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much - Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them more (Oscar Wilde).
- Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life - Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life (Steve Jobs).
- I don't like those cold, precise, perfect people, who, in order not to speak wrong, never speak at all, and in order not to do wrong never do anything. - I don’t like these cold, neat, perfect people who, in order not to say the wrong thing, say nothing at all, and in order not to commit the wrong thing, do nothing at all (Henry Beecher)
- No two persons ever read the same book. - No two people have read the same book (Woodrow Wilson)
- While we are postponing, life speeds by. — While we put off everything until later, life passes by (Seneca)
- Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. - Make your own dreams come true, or someone else will hire you to make theirs come true (Farrah Gray)
- It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. — It is not the strongest or the smartest who survive, but the one who best adapts to change (Charles Darwin)
- Love the life you live, and live the life you love. - Love the life you live and live the life you love (Bob Marley)
- Music is the universal language of mankind. — Music is the universal language of mankind (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
A famous statement from one of the most outstanding musicians of the last century, John Lennon:
“When I was five years old, my mother always said that happiness is the most important thing in life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote: “Happy.” Then they told me that I didn’t understand the question, and I answered that they don’t understand life.”
Life is a journey, not a destination.
Learning a language is also a journey that can be inspired by others. We all need motivation in times when we give up and have no strength to move on. Especially if our goal is fluency in the language. We've collected twenty inspiring quotes about language learning that you can use as life lessons and use to help you achieve your goals.
Language learning and confidence
Learning a language will make you a more confident person. The following quotes will help you understand why:
“Learning a language means opening a new window on the world” - Chinese proverb
“To speak another language means to have a second soul” - Charlemagne
“New language - new life” - Persian proverb
“When you learn a new language, you become a member of a club - a community of native speakers of that language” - Frank Smith
“He who speaks one language is one person, and he who speaks two languages are two persons” - Turkish proverb
Language learning and wisdom
There is no doubt that learning a language will make you a wiser person:
“Knowledge of languages is the door to wisdom” - Roger Bacon
“We now have compelling evidence that learning a foreign language has a ripple effect, helping to improve students' performance in other subjects” - Richard Riley
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
“He who does not know foreign languages knows nothing about himself” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Language is more to the mind than light is to the eyes” - William Gibson
Learning a language and pushing boundaries
By learning a language, you will become a more open person and will find new ways:
“Do you know what a foreign accent is? It is a sign of courage.” – Amy Chua
“Change your language and you will change your thoughts” - Karl Albrecht
“With languages you are at home anywhere” – Edward De Waal
“A different language is a different vision of life” - Federico Fellini
“We invent the world through language. The world reveals itself through language” – Mel Pancoast
Language learning and fun
Last but not least, learning a language is a joyful journey. And that's why:
“It is impossible to express the joy of knowing a foreign language. I cannot express these feelings in my mother tongue” - Munia Khan
“I enjoy moving between languages as well as between countries and cities” – Elif Shafak
“He who does not know foreign languages knows nothing about himself” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“There is a special kind of beauty born in language by language for language” - Gaston Bachelard
“With every new language you live a new life. If you only know one language, you only live once” - Czech proverb
Here are your 20 inspiring quotes about language learning. Whenever you need motivation, just come back to this article and get inspired again and again!
Sayings about the German language:
1. Life is too short to learn German (Richard Porson) 2. The German language is essentially rich, but in German colloquial speech we use only a tenth of this wealth; thus, in fact, we are poor in words. The French language is essentially poor, but the French know how to use everything it has in the interests of conversation, and therefore they are actually rich in words. (Heinrich Heine) 3. I don’t understand a word of German. I was taught this language at school, but after graduating, two years later I completely forgot everything and since then I have felt much better. (Jerome K. Jerome. Three in a boat, not counting the dog) 4. I can understand the German language, as well as the maniac who invented it, but I would prefer to express this idea through a translator.” (Mark Twain) 5. Some German words are so long that they can be observed in perspective. When you look along a word like this, it tapers towards the end, like the rails of a railroad track.” (Mark Twain) 6. I would abolish excessively long compound words in the German language or require that they be presented in parts - with breaks for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (Mark Twain) 7. If a German writer dives into a phrase, you will not see him until he emerges on the other side of his Atlantic Ocean with a verb in his mouth. (Mark Twain) 8. The verb has a rather difficult life in this world, even if it is completely intact. It is highly inhumane to cut it into pieces. But that's exactly what the Germans do. (Mark Twain) 9. The Germans take one half of the verb and put it like a milepost, take the other and put a second post. Between these pillars they pile a pile of words. And how they pile on! Full of shovels! (Mark Twain) 10. Of all the languages that I don’t know, the one I don’t know best is German. (Sylvia Cheese)
Sayings about the French language:
1. French is a woman. And she is so beautiful, proud, modest, brave, touching, sensual, chaste, noble, close, reckless, wise that we love her with all our souls and have never tried to cheat on her. (Anatole France) 2. Yes, I have a homeland: the French language. (Albert Camus) 3. What is not said clearly is not said in French. (A. Rivarol) 4. The English language is a weapon that shoots lead, its shot is scattered. The French language is a weapon that shoots bullets, and it hits accurately. (Otto von Habsburg) 5. The French language is a noble beggar; she does not suffer from being made richer against her own will. (Marcel Prevost) 6. The French language is a trophy of war. Why do you need a military trophy if it needs to be either thrown away or returned to the owner after the end of hostilities? (Yassin Kateb) 7. The charm and beauty of the French language often lies in the ability to get rid of what is not necessary. (Jules Renard) 8. I passionately love the French language, I believe everything that grammar tells me, and I relish the exceptions and “irregularities” of our language. (Jules Renard) 9. Writing flawlessly in French is effort and fun, which slightly compensates for the boredom felt from writing. (Paul Valery) 10. No matter what you say, your native language will always remain native. When you want to speak to your heart’s content, not a single French word comes to mind, but if you want to shine, then it’s a different matter. (L.N. Tolstoy)
The Center for International Communication Language Plus invites you to courses in German, French and English. Training is possible in groups and individually.
