English quotes
English quotes with translation

Explore well-known and useful English quotes, phrases and sayings. Quotes in English with translations.

Best english quotes

Vincent Van Gogh photo

“The sadness will last forever.”

Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch post-Impressionist painter (1853-1890)

Attributed to Vincent, as quoted by Theo van gogh in his letter from Paris, to Elisabeth van Gogh, 5 August 1890 http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/21/etc-Theo-Lies.htm
Some of the last words Vincent said to Theo, while dying
1890s

Yuzuru Hanyu photo

“I believe that if you focus on what you should do, the road ahead will open up naturally.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

Other quotes, 2016
Original: (ja) 自分がすべきことを集中してやっていけば、自ずと道は開かれてくると信じているので。
Source: Interview at the arrival in Marseille ahead of the Grand Prix Final 2016, published 7 December 2016 by テレビ朝日 フィギュアスケート https://twitter.com/figureskate5ch/status/806400507698876416 (TV Asahi Figure Skate on Twitter). (Retrieved 11 September 2020)

Paul J. Alessi photo

“Communication is an essential factor in any type of relationship; friend, romantic, or business.”

Paul J. Alessi (1968) Actor / Producer

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/communication-is-an-essential-factor-in-any-type-of-relationship-friend-romantic-or-business-paul-j-alessi-q--10696117851703955/?mt=login
Source: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1568493/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_qt_sm#quotes

Tupac Shakur photo
Andrzej Majewski photo

“The first true love is always the last one.”

Andrzej Majewski (1966) Polish writer and photographer

Aphorisms. Magnum in Parvo (2000)

Johnny Depp photo

“Breathe. It’s only a bad day, not a bad life.”

Johnny Depp (1963) American actor, film producer, and musician
Tom Hiddleston photo

“We all have two lives. The second begins when you realize you only have one.”

Tom Hiddleston (1981) English actor, producer and musical performer

P.T. Barnum photo

“The noblest art is that of making others happy”

P.T. Barnum (1810–1891) American showman and businessman
Tupac Shakur photo
Tupac Shakur photo

“Don't live to fight, fight to live.”

Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) rapper and actor

Source: Resurrection, 1971-1996

Andrzej Majewski photo

“A slave dreams of freedom, a free man dreams of wealth, the wealthy dream of power, and the powerful dream of freedom.”

Andrzej Majewski (1966) Polish writer and photographer

Niewolnik marzy o wolności, człowiek wolny o bogactwie, bogacz o władzy, a władca o wolności.
Aphorisms. Magnum in Parvo (2000)

Andrzej Majewski photo

“Politics is a great art. It succeeds at convincing the people that they have to pay for what has been stolen from them.”

Andrzej Majewski (1966) Polish writer and photographer

Aphorisms. Magnum in Parvo (2000)

Bob Marley photo

“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.”

Bob Marley (1945–1981) Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician
Tupac Shakur photo
Andrzej Majewski quote: “If you do not want it to rain, always carry an umbrella.”
Andrzej Majewski photo

“If you do not want it to rain, always carry an umbrella.”

Andrzej Majewski (1966) Polish writer and photographer

Aphorisms. Magnum in Parvo (2000)

Samuel Beckett photo

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

Worstward Ho (1983)
Variant: Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Context: All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

Andrzej Majewski photo

“Women are beautiful in the light of the day, but are even more so in the shadows of the night.”

Andrzej Majewski (1966) Polish writer and photographer

Aphorisms. Magnum in Parvo (2000)

Andrzej Majewski photo

“Man invented clothing to cover the superficial and to discover the inside.”

Andrzej Majewski (1966) Polish writer and photographer

Aphorisms. Magnum in Parvo (2000)

Andrzej Majewski photo

“The tragedy of a thoughtless man is not that he doesn't think, but that he thinks that he's thinking.”

Andrzej Majewski (1966) Polish writer and photographer

Aphorisms. Magnum in Parvo (2000)

Matka Tereza photo
Erwin Rommel photo
Yuzuru Hanyu photo

“If you’re going to set goals, it’s better for them to be big. If you write them down decisively, it’s easier to succeed. Indeed, my way of thinking is quite mathematical.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

Translation source: https://kaerb.tumblr.com/post/170346243034/if-youre-going-to-set-goals-its-better-for (user-translation) from 31 January 2018.
Annotation: This quote is excerpted from an interview filmed in Yokohama on 22 November 2009 after an official practice at Japanese Junior Nationals, aired 23 December 2009 in 2009全日本フィギュアスケートジュニア選手権大会 (2009 All Japan Figure Skating Junior Championships) by BS Fuji.
Page: 124.
Original: (ja) 目標を書くなら大きいほうがいい。具体的に書いたほうが達成しやすい。けっこう理数系です。

Tupac Shakur quote: “You're right. I am crazy. But you know what else? I don't care.”
Tupac Shakur photo
Emily Dickinson photo
Hubert Reeves photo
Chester Bennington photo

“You can close your eyes to the things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to the things you don't want to feel.”

Chester Bennington (1976–2017) American singer-songwriter

Also attributed to Johnny Depp.

Bob Marley photo

“One love, one heart, one destiny.”

Bob Marley (1945–1981) Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician
Kobe Bryant photo

“Heroes come and go, but legends are forever.”

Kobe Bryant (1978–2020) American basketball player
Orson Welles photo
Rumi photo

“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.”

Rumi (1207–1273) Iranian poet

As quoted in Path for Greatness : Spiritualty at Work (2000) by Linda J. Ferguson, p. 51

Michael Jackson photo

“Love lives forever.”

Michael Jackson (1958–2009) American singer, songwriter and dancer

Last title displayed on the film.
This Is It

Bob Marley quote: “You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.”
Bob Marley photo

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.”

Bob Marley (1945–1981) Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician

Variant: You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice...

“It is essential that the government provide educational services that respond to the people’s needs”

Sukavich Rangsitpol (1935) Thai politician

Education for All People and Education for Life

George Sand photo

“There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.”

George Sand (1804–1876) French novelist and memoirist; pseudonym of Lucile Aurore Dupin
Vincent Van Gogh photo

“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”

Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch post-Impressionist painter (1853-1890)
Claude Monet quote: “What keeps my heart awake is colorful silence.”
Claude Monet photo

“What keeps my heart awake is colorful silence.”

Claude Monet (1840–1926) French impressionist painter
Tom Hiddleston photo
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry photo

“Here is my secret. It is very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Voici mon secret. Il est très simple: on ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
Variant translations: Here is my secret. It is very simple: one sees well only with the heart. The essential is invisible to the eyes.
The essential things in life are seen not with the eyes, but with the heart.
Le Petit Prince (1943)

Alfred Adler photo

“Follow your heart but take your brain with you.”

Alfred Adler (1870–1937) Medical Doctor, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Personality Theorist
Mehmed II photo

“We do not conquer the lands, we conquer the hearts.”

Mehmed II (1432–1481) Ottoman sultan

Source: Aşıkpaşoğlu History (Prepared: Atsız), 154

Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
William Shakespeare photo

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”

Variant: Love all, trust a few.
Source: All's Well That Ends Well

Tom Hiddleston photo
Tupac Shakur photo

“My mama always used to tell me: 'If you can't find somethin' to live for, you best find somethin' to die for.”

Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) rapper and actor

Variant: My Mama used to tell me if u can’t find something to live for, you best find something to die for.
Source: Resurrection, 1971-1996

Aristotle photo

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

Aristotle (-384–-321 BC) Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy
Stephen Hawking photo

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author
Vincent Van Gogh photo
Kurt Cobain photo

“I would rather be hated for what I am, then loved for what I am not.”

Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) American musician and artist

Variant: I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

Albert Einstein quote: “Try to become not a man of success, but try rather to become a man of value.”
Albert Einstein photo

“Try to become not a man of success, but try rather to become a man of value.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

As quoted by LIFE magazine (2 May 1955)
1950s
Variant: Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

Kobe Bryant photo
Jordan Peterson photo

“When you have something to say, silence is a lie.”

Jordan Peterson (1962) Canadian clinical psychologist, cultural critic, and professor of psychology
Confucius photo

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

Confucius (-551–-479 BC) Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher

Attributed on the internet but not found in print prior to an attribution in Aero Digest, Vols. 58–59, 1949, p. 115 https://books.google.com/books?id=q2ofAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Life+is+simple%22+but+we+insist+on+making+it+complicated&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22Life+is+simple%22+
Misattributed, Not Chinese

Kurt Cobain photo

“Birds scream at the top of their lungs in horrified hellish rage every morning at daybreak to warn us all of the truth, but sadly we don't speak bird.”

Journals (2002)
Context: Birds... scream at the top of their lungs in horrified hellish rage every morning at daybreak to warn us all of the truth. They know the truth. Screaming bloody murder all over the world in our ears, but sadly we don't speak bird. [p. 224]

Milkha Singh photo

“You can achieve anything in life. It just depends on how desperate you are to achieve it.”

Milkha Singh (1935) Indian track and field athlete

The Race of My Life: An Autobiography Milkha Singh (2013)

Tom Hiddleston photo
Dolly Parton photo
Rosa Parks quote: “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”
Rosa Parks photo
Nikola Tesla photo

“Of all things, I liked books best.”

Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian American inventor
Thomas Aquinas photo

“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.”

Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican scholastic philosopher of the Roman Catholic Church
Albert Einstein quote: “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
Albert Einstein photo

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

Variant: A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

Zhuangzi photo
Hermann Hesse photo

“If I know what love is, it is because of you.”

Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)

Tom Hiddleston photo
Freddie Mercury quote: “Modern paintings are like women, you'll never enjoy them if you try to understand them. ”
Freddie Mercury photo
John Lennon photo

“You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one.”

John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter

Lyrics, Imagine (1971 album)

Martin Luther King, Jr. photo

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

'Where Do We Go From Here?" as published in Where Do We Go from Here : Chaos or Community? (1967), p. 62; many statements in this book, or slight variants of them, were also part of his address Where Do We Go From Here?" which has a section below. A common variant appearing at least as early as 1968 has "Returning violence for violence multiplies violence..." An early version of the speech as published in A Martin Luther King Treasury (1964), p. 173, has : "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate..."
1960s
Source: A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
Context: The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. … Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

John Lennon photo
Freddie Mercury photo

“I'm possessed by love — but isn't everybody?”

Freddie Mercury (1946–1991) British singer, songwriter and record producer

As quoted in "I am the Champion" by Nick Ferrari in The Sun (19 July 1985) http://www.queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Freddie_Mercury_-_07-19-1985_-_The_Sun.
Context: I'm possessed by love — but isn't everybody? Most of my songs are love ballads and things to do with sadness and torture and pain.
In terms of love, you're not in control and I hate that feeling. I seem to write a lot of sad songs because I'm a very tragic person. But there's always an element of humour at the end.

Tom Hiddleston photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
George Eliot photo

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

George Eliot (1819–1880) English novelist, journalist and translator
Adolf Hitler photo

“I can fight only for something that I love. I can love only what I respect. And in order to respect a thing I must at least have some knowledge of it.”

Variant: And I can fight only for something that I love, love only what I respect, and respect only what I at least know.
Source: Mein Kampf

Frédéric Chopin quote: “I tell my piano the things I used to tell you”
Frédéric Chopin photo
Claude Monet photo
Kurt Cobain photo
C.G. Jung photo

“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”

C.G. Jung (1875–1961) Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology

Variant: I am not what happens to me. I choose who I become.

Simone de Beauvoir photo
Charles Bukowski quote: “Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.”
Charles Bukowski photo

“Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.”

Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) American writer

Variant: Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.

Bob Marley photo
Sun Tzu photo

“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty

This has often been attributed to Sun Tzu and sometimes to Petrarch. It comes most directly from a line spoken by Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974), written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola:
My father taught me many things here. He taught me in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
Niccolò Machiavelli, who is also sometimes credited, wrote on the subject in The Prince:
It is easier for the prince to make friends of those men who were contented under the former government, and are therefore his enemies, than of those who, being discontented with it, were favourable to him and encouraged him to seize it.
Misattributed

Cornelius Keagon photo

“I would rather have no friends than fake friends”

Cornelius Keagon (1996) Liberian humanitarian aid worker

Source: https://www.academia.edu/57019490/Cornelius_Keagon_biography Academic.edu, Cornelius Keagon biography

Stephen Hawking photo

“Quiet people have the loudest minds.”

Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author
Emily Brontë photo

“He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

Variant: Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same
Source: Wuthering Heights

Tom Hiddleston photo

“Retaliation gets you nothing. Revenge is worthless.”

Tom Hiddleston (1981) English actor, producer and musical performer
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Johnny Depp photo
Tupac Shakur photo
Dr. Seuss photo

“Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

Dr. Seuss (1904–1991) American children's writer and illustrator, co-founder of Beginner Books

Often attributed to Dr. Seuss without citation; also cited as an anonymous proverb.
This quote has also been attributed to Gabriel García Márquez, in Spanish: "No llores porque ya se terminó, sonríe porque sucedió."
Compare lines from In Memoriam A.H.H. of Tennyson:
  'Tis better to have loved and lost
  Than never to have loved at all.
Disputed
Variant: Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

Bob Marley photo

“Overcome the devils with a thing called love.”

Bob Marley (1945–1981) Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician
Angelina Jolie photo
Adolf Hitler photo

“Do not compare yourself to others. If you do so, you are insulting yourself.”

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany, Leader of the Nazi Party
Tupac Shakur photo

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