--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The untranslatable thought must be the…" description: "\"The untranslatable thought must be the most precise.\" — Jane Hirshfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/jane-hirshfield-2649_language_the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-m_3009049.png" --- # The untranslatable thought must be the most precise. ![“The untranslatable thought must be the most precise.” quote by Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/jane-hirshfield-2649_language_the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-m_3009049.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/jane-hirshfield-2649_language_the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-m_3009049.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/jane-hirshfield-2649_language_the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-m_3009049.png) > “The untranslatable thought must be the most precise.” [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The most exact ideas are those that cannot be directly expressed in language. **In simple terms:** Some thoughts are too precise to translate. Key Takeaway Value the limits of language. Themes communication translation precision limits Mood reflective introspective thoughtful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - philosophical discussion - creative writing Key Concepts ineffability semantic nuance Questions to Reflect On - What ideas have you struggled to articulate? - How can non‑verbal media convey precise meaning? A Different Perspective Language may fail to capture nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Precise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precise/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thought Precise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-precise-4815112/) [Untranslatable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/untranslatable-885507/) [Untranslatable Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/untranslatable-thought-4815111/) ## Related quotes > [Your voice is wild and simple. 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It never says, or perhaps it says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/there-is-an-hour-of-the-afternoon-when-the-plain-is-on-the-verge-of/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Proper names are poetry in the raw. Like all poetry they are untranslatable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/proper-names-are-poetry-in-the-raw-like-all-poetry-they-are/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [ “the best of Cervantes is untranslatable, and this undeniable fact is in itself an incentive \[for one and all\] to learn Spanish.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-f-g-bell/the-best-of-cervantes-is-untranslatable-and-this-undeniable-fact-is/) [Aubrey F.G. Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-f-g-bell/) > [The history of a culture can be determined by its untranslatable words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-history-of-a-culture-can-be-determined-by-its-untranslatable-words/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It is a commonplace that Racine is untranslatable. This is not because his verse is difficult, but because it is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/it-is-a-commonplace-that-racine-is-untranslatable-this-is-not-because/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-too-am-not-a-bit-tamed-i-too-am-untranslatable/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [There are certain concepts, which exist in english, and are unthinkable, untranslatable into Hebrew and vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/there-are-certain-concepts-which-exist-in-english-and-are-unthinkable-2/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“Dharma, the word at the heart of the epic, is in fact untranslatable. Duty, goodness, justice, law and custom all have something to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gurcharan-das/dharma-the-word-at-the-heart-of-the-epic-is-in-fact-untranslatable/) [Gurcharan Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gurcharan-das/) > [It's only a thought and a thought can be changed. Choose good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/it-s-only-a-thought-and-a-thought-can-be-changed-choose-good-ones/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Thought determines action. Do not let your whole life be a reaction to the things that happen around you each day. Let your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/thought-determines-action-do-not-let-your-whole-life-be-a-reaction-to/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [All that we are is the result of what we have thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-we-are-is-the-result-of-what-we-have-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgotten thought is the ultimate entropy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-lintern/forgotten-thought-is-the-ultimate-entropy/) [Neil Lintern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-lintern/) ## More by Jane Hirshfield > [I don't have a cell phone (though for years I've kept saying, "soon").](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-don-t-have-a-cell-phone-though-for-years-i-ve-kept-saying-soon/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I once was asked to contribute to a mushroom poem anthology. I didn't have anything, and so instead ended up writing the introduction. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-once-was-asked-to-contribute-to-a-mushroom-poem-anthology-i-didn-t/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Everything has two endings- a horse, a piece of string, a phone call. Before a life, air. And after. As silence is not silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/everything-has-two-endings-a-horse-a-piece-of-string-a-phone-call/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [A certain amount of housekeeping also goes on in my poems. I wash doorknobs, do dishes, mop floors, patch carpets, cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/a-certain-amount-of-housekeeping-also-goes-on-in-my-poems-i-wash/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Self carries grief as a pack mule carries the side bags, being careful between the trees to leave extra room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/self-carries-grief-as-a-pack-mule-carries-the-side-bags-being-careful/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [My job as a human being as well as a writer is to feel as thoroughly as possible the experience that I am part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/my-job-as-a-human-being-as-well-as-a-writer-is-to-feel-as-thoroughly/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I want to preserve a certain unknowing about my own poems - perhaps because unknowing is in itself a useful poetic thirst. To move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-want-to-preserve-a-certain-unknowing-about-my-own-poems-perhaps/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Habit, laziness, and fear conspire to keep us comfortably within the familiar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/habit-laziness-and-fear-conspire-to-keep-us-comfortably-within-the/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [In order to gain anything, you must first lose everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/in-order-to-gain-anything-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [The same words come from each mouth differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-same-words-come-from-each-mouth-differently/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Metaphors think with the imagination and the senses. The hot chili peppers in them explode in the mouth and the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/metaphors-think-with-the-imagination-and-the-senses-the-hot-chili/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Your fate is to be yourself, both punishment and crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/your-fate-is-to-be-yourself-both-punishment-and-crime/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Near even a candle, the visible heat. So it is with a person in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/near-even-a-candle-the-visible-heat-so-it-is-with-a-person-in-love/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [At some point I realized that you don't get a full human life if you try to cut off one end of it, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/at-some-point-i-realized-that-you-don-t-get-a-full-human-life-if-you/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Immensity is always there, but we so often become numb to it, or deceive ourselves into thinking our own lives and selves are what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-often-become-numb-to-it-or/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) [Explore all 156 Jane Hirshfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## More Language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. 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Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) [TimBur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timbur/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. 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(To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The untranslatable thought must be the most precise.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Hirshfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-most-precise/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-most-precise/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/jane-hirshfield-2649_language_the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-m_3009049.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/jane-hirshfield-2649_language_the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-m_3009049.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/jane-hirshfield-2649_language_the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-m_3009049.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The untranslatable thought must be the most precise.” — Jane Hirshfield", "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": "Jane Hirshfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The untranslatable thought must be the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-most-precise/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-most-precise/#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 } } ] } ```