--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Language disguises thought." description: "\"Language disguises thought.\" — Ludwig Wittgenstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_disguise_language-disguises-thought-3045637_3045637.png" --- # Language disguises thought. ![“Language disguises thought.” quote by Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_disguise_language-disguises-thought-3045637_3045637.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_disguise_language-disguises-thought-3045637_3045637.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_disguise_language-disguises-thought-3045637_3045637.png) > “Language disguises thought.” [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language masks the true nature of thought, allowing ideas to be hidden or altered by words. **In simple terms:** Words hide real thoughts. Key Takeaway Examine how language shapes perception. Themes language thought communication Mood analytical curious Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - political discourse - marketing - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy of language cognitive linguistics Questions to Reflect On - How does phrasing affect understanding? - When does language clarify versus conceal? A Different Perspective Language can also reveal truth when used carefully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disguise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disguise/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [Language disguises the thought; so that from the external form of the clothes one cannot infer the form of the thought they clothe, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/language-disguises-the-thought-so-that-from-the-external-form-of-the/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [It is not humanly possible to gather immediately from it what the logic of language is. Language disguises thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/it-is-not-humanly-possible-to-gather-immediately-from-it-what-the/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“Do I hope that if feeling disguises itself as thought I shall feel less?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/do-i-hope-that-if-feeling-disguises-itself-as-thought-i-shall-feel/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [I get recognised sometimes, and that's really cool. I've tried certain disguises, but that doesn't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-grint/i-get-recognised-sometimes-and-that-s-really-cool-i-ve-tried-certain/) [Rupert Grint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-grint/) > [For me a chameleon is something that disguises itself to look as much like its environment as possible. I always thought I did exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/for-me-a-chameleon-is-something-that-disguises-itself-to-look-as-much/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I'm not quite at the point where I feel the need to wear disguises in public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hendricks/i-m-not-quite-at-the-point-where-i-feel-the-need-to-wear-disguises-in/) [Christina Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hendricks/) > [I think that there are so many women who understand nothing about clothes and they should try and understand themselves before they start putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-rykiel/i-think-that-there-are-so-many-women-who-understand-nothing-about/) [Sonia Rykiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-rykiel/) > [The shadow disguises itself in our projections, when we react intensely to a trait in others that we fail to see in ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-zweig/the-shadow-disguises-itself-in-our-projections-when-we-react/) [Connie Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-zweig/) > [Tis the old secret of the gods that they come in low disguises. 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It takes you back to being a kid, to dressing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-cassel/i-ve-always-loved-the-idea-of-changing-myself-wearing-costumes-and/) [Vincent Cassel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-cassel/) > [The child--a skilled actor with a hundred masks: a different one for his mother, father, grandmother or grandfather, for a stern or lenient teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janusz-korczak/the-child-a-skilled-actor-with-a-hundred-masks-a-different-one-for/) [Janusz Korczak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janusz-korczak/) > [O, to be sure, we laugh less and play less and wear uncomfortable disguises like adults, but beneath the costume is the child we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-rosten/o-to-be-sure-we-laugh-less-and-play-less-and-wear-uncomfortable/) [Leo Rosten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-rosten/) > [I wear so many disguises on the show that only a real comedy fan might spot me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-putner/i-wear-so-many-disguises-on-the-show-that-only-a-real-comedy-fan/) Paul Putner > [Words themselves - the very material of our discourse increasingly take on masks or disguises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-potter/words-themselves-the-very-material-of-our-discourse-increasingly-take/) [Dennis Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-potter/) > [Honesty is the most subversive of all disguises,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/honesty-is-the-most-subversive-of-all-disguises/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) ## More by Ludwig Wittgenstein > [“But some of the greatest achievements in philosophy could only be compared with taking up some books which seemed to belong together, and putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/but-some-of-the-greatest-achievements-in-philosophy-could-only-be/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [What can be shown, cannot be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/what-can-be-shown-cannot-be-said/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“This is connected with the conception of naming as a process that is, so to speak, occult. Naming seems to be a \_strange\_ connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/this-is-connected-with-the-conception-of-naming-as-a-process-that-is/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [If a lion could talk, we could not understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/if-a-lion-could-talk-we-could-not-understand-him/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [White must be the lightest color in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/white-must-be-the-lightest-color-in-a-picture/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Freud's fanciful pseudo-explanations (precisely because they are brilliant) perform a disservice. Now any ass has these pictures available to use in "explaining" symptoms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/freud-s-fanciful-pseudo-explanations-precisely-because-they-are/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [In order to be able to set a limit to thought, we should have to find both sides of the limit thinkable (i.e. we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/in-order-to-be-able-to-set-a-limit-to-thought-we-should-have-to-find/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [A teacher who can show good, or indeed astounding results while he is teaching, is still not on that account a good teacher, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/a-teacher-who-can-show-good-or-indeed-astounding-results-while-he-is/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [One often makes a remark and only later sees how true it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/one-often-makes-a-remark-and-only-later-sees-how-true-it-is/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Where does our investigation get its importance from, since it seems only to destroy everything interesting, that is, all that is great and important?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/where-does-our-investigation-get-its-importance-from-since-it-seems/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [There is such a thing as the impression of luminosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/there-is-such-a-thing-as-the-impression-of-luminosity/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/death-is-not-an-event-in-life-we-do-not-live-to-experience-death-if/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [I Once wrote: "In mathematics process and result are equivalent."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/i-once-wrote-in-mathematics-process-and-result-are-equivalent/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Philosophy aims at the logical clarification of thoughts. Philosophy is not a body of doctrine but an activity. A philosophical work consists essentially of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/philosophy-aims-at-the-logical-clarification-of-thoughts-philosophy/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“It is clear that ethics cannot be expressed. Ethics are transcendental. (Ethics and æsthetics are one.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/it-is-clear-that-ethics-cannot-be-expressed-ethics-are-transcendental/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) [Explore all 454 Ludwig Wittgenstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) ## More Disguise quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [I am a dork in disguise; I love doing stupid stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-j/i-am-a-dork-in-disguise-i-love-doing-stupid-stuff/) [Jessie J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-j/) > [In the indications of female poverty there can be no disguise. No woman dresses below herself from caprice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/in-the-indications-of-female-poverty-there-can-be-no-disguise-no/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [My dad's idea of punishment was to dress me up in all green to disguise me as grass, and then throw me in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-callen/my-dad-s-idea-of-punishment-was-to-dress-me-up-in-all-green-to/) [Bryan Callen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-callen/) > [Cameras are a lifesaver for very shy people who have nowhere else to hide. Behind a lens they can disguise the fact that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/cameras-are-a-lifesaver-for-very-shy-people-who-have-nowhere-else-to/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [What if it turns out there really are witches and vampires and werewolves living right here alongside us? After all, what better disguise could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-lukyanenko/what-if-it-turns-out-there-really-are-witches-and-vampires-and/) [Sergei Lukyanenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-lukyanenko/) > [From childhood I was compelled to concentrate attention upon myself. This caused me much suffering, but to my present view, it was a blessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/from-childhood-i-was-compelled-to-concentrate-attention-upon-myself/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [The best live among us in disguise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-dudek/the-best-live-among-us-in-disguise/) [Louis Dudek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-dudek/) > [Every man is a divinity in disguise, a god playing the fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-man-is-a-divinity-in-disguise-a-god-playing-the-fool/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I have found that in fiction one is freer to speak the truth, if only because in fiction the truth is not expected or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sington/i-have-found-that-in-fiction-one-is-freer-to-speak-the-truth-if-only/) [Philip Sington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sington/) > [“He was a chameleon. 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