--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can give words, but you can't take…" description: "\"You can give words, but you can't take them. And when words are given, that is when they are shared. We remember what that was like. Words so real they..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/david-levithan-67_blur_you-can-give-words-but-you-can-t-take-th_2601833.jpg" --- # You can give words, but you can't take them. And when… ![“You can give words, but you can't take them. And when words are given, that is when they are shared. We remember what that was like. Words so real they were almost tangible. There are conversations you remember, for certain. But more than that, there is the sensation of conversation. You will…” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/david-levithan-67_blur_you-can-give-words-but-you-can-t-take-th_2601833.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/david-levithan-67_blur_you-can-give-words-but-you-can-t-take-th_2601833.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/david-levithan-67_blur_you-can-give-words-but-you-can-t-take-th_2601833.jpg) > “You can give words, but you can't take them. And when words are given, that is when they are shared. We remember what that was like. Words so real they were almost tangible. There are conversations you remember, for certain. But more than that, there is the sensation of conversation. You will remember that, even when the precise words begin to blur.” [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Words have lasting emotional power; even when forgotten, the feeling of conversation endures. **In simple terms:** Words leave a lasting emotional imprint. Key Takeaway Cherish meaningful conversations. Themes communication memory emotion Mood nostalgic reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - friendships - family gatherings - therapeutic sessions - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - What conversations have stayed with you? - How do you preserve important moments? A Different Perspective Memory can be selective, and feelings may fade. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > [I do not repeat conversations that I can't remember. And it's something that irritates me a great deal, because I think most memoirs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-do-not-repeat-conversations-that-i-can-t-remember-and-it-s/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [So after a while, I just have to forget all the times we shared. All the laughs, the jokes, the long talks... All the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-after-a-while-i-just-have-to-forget-all-the-times-we-shared-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our first kiss, those long tight hugs, our late night conversations. I remember them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-first-kiss-those-long-tight-hugs-our-late-night-conversations-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Going through memories we shared.. I remember how us used to be perfect. How people would say we look perfect for each other.. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reelow-leesah/going-through-memories-we-shared-i-remember-how-us-used-to-be-perfect/) ReeLow LeeSah > [“I want to apologize to you,” she says calmly. “Oh yeah? For what?” I don’t have time for this. We don’t have time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-want-to-apologize-to-you-she-says-calmly-oh-yeah-for-what-i-don-t/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Karma," he said once, "is not a sentence already printed. It is a series of words the author can arrange as she choses." Love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gran/karma-he-said-once-is-not-a-sentence-already-printed-it-is-a-series/) [Sara Gran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gran/) > [Words were not given to man in order to conceal his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/words-were-not-given-to-man-in-order-to-conceal-his-thoughts/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I cannot tell and I shall never know how many words of mine might have given birth to cruelty in place of love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/i-cannot-tell-and-i-shall-never-know-how-many-words-of-mine-might/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [“In school we only learn to recognize the words and to spell but the application of these words to real life is another thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/in-school-we-only-learn-to-recognize-the-words-and-to-spell-but-the/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“His fingers trace letters on my flesh. He's handing me back my own words. This is real”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autumn-doughton/his-fingers-trace-letters-on-my-flesh-he-s-handing-me-back-my-own/) [Autumn Doughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autumn-doughton/) > [Words are real. Even if you can't see them, or hold them. Once you send them out in the world, they have power. Never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frasier/words-are-real-even-if-you-can-t-see-them-or-hold-them-once-you-send/) [Anne Frasier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frasier/) > [Words! Mere words! How terrible they were! How clear, and vivid, and cruel! One could not escape from them. And yet what a subtle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/words-mere-words-how-terrible-they-were-how-clear-and-vivid-and-cruel-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“And yet he kept sticking to her life like gum on the sole of her shoe, either on the Net or in real life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/and-yet-he-kept-sticking-to-her-life-like-gum-on-the-sole-of-her-shoe/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [On a few words of what is real in the world I nourish myself. I defend myself against Whatever remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/on-a-few-words-of-what-is-real-in-the-world-i-nourish-myself-i-defend/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [I'm tired of pretending that your words are real when your actions speaks a different language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usman-ismaheel/i-m-tired-of-pretending-that-your-words-are-real-when-your-actions/) [Usman Ismaheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usman-ismaheel/) ## More by David Levithan > [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Patrick: Is she worth the trouble? Cameron: I thought she was- Patrick: Either she is, or she isn't. So give it a shot, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/patrick-is-she-worth-the-trouble-cameron-i-thought-she-was-patrick/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“We saw our friends die. But we also see our friends live. So many of them live, and we often toast their long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-saw-our-friends-die-but-we-also-see-our-friends-live-so-many-of/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/maybe-tonight-you-re-scared-of-falling-and-maybe-there-s-somebody/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“You never told me what you saw in him, not convincingly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-never-told-me-what-you-saw-in-him-not-convincingly/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“i nod to the other will grayson, up onstage. he nods to me. we have something between us, him and me. but the truth?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-nod-to-the-other-will-grayson-up-onstage-he-nods-to-me-we-have/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“When you break someone's heart, you also break yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-break-someone-s-heart-you-also-break-yours/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Because toward the end all the words started leaving. Except for the ones that had to lock up at the end of the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-toward-the-end-all-the-words-started-leaving-except-for-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) [Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## More Blur quotes > [Having power and being in a position of power can really blur your judgement, and it's not always that clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-power-and-being-in-a-position-of-power-can-really-blur-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I liked playing Morph in Mash and Peas and doing Phil Daniels in the Blur Rock Profile was a giggle too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-putner/i-liked-playing-morph-in-mash-and-peas-and-doing-phil-daniels-in-the/) Paul Putner > [One foot in front of the other, counting tiles on the floor so I don't have to focus the blur of painted smiles, fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/one-foot-in-front-of-the-other-counting-tiles-on-the-floor-so-i-don-t/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [The camera has an interest in turning history into spectacle, but none in reversing the process. At best, the picture leaves a vague blur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-donoghue/the-camera-has-an-interest-in-turning-history-into-spectacle-but-none/) [Denis Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-donoghue/) > [There were some great bands in the 90s like Blur and Oasis, The Stone Roses and all that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-llewellyn/there-were-some-great-bands-in-the-90s-like-blur-and-oasis-the-stone/) [Dylan Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-llewellyn/) > [I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It's very thin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-like-to-see-the-difference-between-good-and-evil-as-kind-of-like/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Photoshop your life. Touch up the edges, adjust the tones, blur out the background, focus on yourself, and crop people out!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/photoshop-your-life-touch-up-the-edges-adjust-the-tones-blur-out-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Graffiti is like building a career. And there is a dialogue with the other artists out there mostly fellow writers because a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaws/graffiti-is-like-building-a-career-and-there-is-a-dialogue-with-the/) [KAWS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaws/) > [Love blurs your vision; but after it recedes, you can see more clearly than ever. It's like the tide going out, revealing whatever's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/love-blurs-your-vision-but-after-it-recedes-you-can-see-more-clearly/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Opposites blur and become one. If you open your mind, that is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-wesselhoeft/opposites-blur-and-become-one-if-you-open-your-mind-that-is/) [Conrad Wesselhoeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-wesselhoeft/) > [Life was a freight train barreling toward just one stop, our loved ones streaking past our windows in blurs of color and light. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/life-was-a-freight-train-barreling-toward-just-one-stop-our-loved/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [People forgot; it was in the nature of people to forget, to blur boundaries, to retell stories to come out the way they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/people-forgot-it-was-in-the-nature-of-people-to-forget-to-blur/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [The differences between a tart, a pie and a quiche are a blur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/the-differences-between-a-tart-a-pie-and-a-quiche-are-a-blur/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [Equipped with cell phones, beepers, and handheld computers, the 'conspicuously industrious' blur the line between home and office by working anytime, anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-davis/equipped-with-cell-phones-beepers-and-handheld-computers-the/) [Jo Ann Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-davis/) > [Do you know how many ways love can hit you? So it makes you happy, or miserable? It makes you sick in the belly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/do-you-know-how-many-ways-love-can-hit-you-so-it-makes-you-happy-or/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) Browse all 275 Blur quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can give words, but you can't take them. And when words are given, that is when they are shared. We remember what that was like. Words so real they were almost tangible. There are conversations you remember, for certain. But more than that, there is the sensation of conversation. You will remember that, even when the precise words begin to blur.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Levithan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-can-give-words-but-you-can-t-take-them-and-when-words-are-given/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blur" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-can-give-words-but-you-can-t-take-them-and-when-words-are-given/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/david-levithan-67_blur_you-can-give-words-but-you-can-t-take-th_2601833.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/david-levithan-67_blur_you-can-give-words-but-you-can-t-take-th_2601833.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/david-levithan-67_blur_you-can-give-words-but-you-can-t-take-th_2601833.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can give words, but you can't take them. And when words are given, that is when they are shared. We…” — David Levithan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Levithan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can give words, but you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-can-give-words-but-you-can-t-take-them-and-when-words-are-given/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-can-give-words-but-you-can-t-take-them-and-when-words-are-given/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```