--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If an enemy strikes your left cheek…" description: "\"If an enemy strikes your left cheek, offer him your right.\" — Mahatma Gandhi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/mahatma-gandhi-23_cheek_if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offe_197316.jpg" --- # If an enemy strikes your left cheek, offer him your right. ![“If an enemy strikes your left cheek, offer him your right.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/mahatma-gandhi-23_cheek_if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offe_197316.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/mahatma-gandhi-23_cheek_if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offe_197316.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/mahatma-gandhi-23_cheek_if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offe_197316.jpg) > “If an enemy strikes your left cheek, offer him your right.” [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Responding to aggression with generosity undermines retaliation. **In simple terms:** Generosity counters aggression. Key Takeaway Practice compassionate retaliation. Themes nonviolence ethics conflict resolution Mood peaceful determined Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - personal disputes - social activism Key Concepts moral philosophy peace studies Questions to Reflect On - How can generosity be applied safely? - What limits exist for nonviolent responses? A Different Perspective May be impractical in extreme threats. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cheek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheek/) [Cheek Offer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheek-offer-2069290/) [Cheeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheeks/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enemy Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-strikes-2069292/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Left Cheek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-cheek-2069289/) [Offer Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offer-right-2069291/) [Offers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offers/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) ## Related quotes > [“Walter broke off a piece of a smile and tucked it into his left cheek as if reserving it for future use.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/walter-broke-off-a-piece-of-a-smile-and-tucked-it-into-his-left-cheek/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [The natural habitat of the tongue is the left cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-smith/the-natural-habitat-of-the-tongue-is-the-left-cheek/) [Red Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-smith/) > [“If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also... but of course if you were able to stand soberly after the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta-betelgeuse-incident/if-someone-slaps-you-on-one-cheek-offer-the-other-cheek-also-but-of/) [Toba Beta \[Betelgeuse Incident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta-betelgeuse-incident/) > [If anybody seeks your advice, offer right and sincere advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-bakr/if-anybody-seeks-your-advice-offer-right-and-sincere-advice/) [Abu Bakr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-bakr/) > [I’ve found that the best life has to offer is right in front of me, with my husband and child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-keys/i-ve-found-that-the-best-life-has-to-offer-is-right-in-front-of-me/) [Alicia Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-keys/) > [“Philip: "You are even more beautiful when you're angry" Marianne: "Don't be absurd" Philip: "I'm not" Philip: "You should see yourself, with that flash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-donaldson/philip-you-are-even-more-beautiful-when-you-re-angry-marianne-don-t/) [Julianne Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-donaldson/) > [I play damaged people a lot. I'm a Cancer. And I say that tongue and cheek, but I wear my heart on my sleeve.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilarie-burton/i-play-damaged-people-a-lot-i-m-a-cancer-and-i-say-that-tongue-and/) [Hilarie Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilarie-burton/) > [“We have so much to learn from a fallen teardrop which is wiped away from our cheek…never to be felt again”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/we-have-so-much-to-learn-from-a-fallen-teardrop-which-is-wiped-away/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [Nobody should teach the black man in America to turn the other cheek, unless someone is teaching the white man in America to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/nobody-should-teach-the-black-man-in-america-to-turn-the-other-cheek/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The cheek Is apter than the tongue to tell an errand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-cheek-is-apter-than-the-tongue-to-tell-an-errand/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Even the dullest bird or face becomes interesting when you give it a good look in the wild/flesh. The way the shadow drops across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-woldhek/even-the-dullest-bird-or-face-becomes-interesting-when-you-give-it-a/) [Siegfried Woldhek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-woldhek/) > [It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-rogers/it-won-t-mean-you-re-weak-if-you-turn-the-other-cheek/) [Kenny Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-rogers/) > [His Cheek is his Biographer- As long as he can blush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/his-cheek-is-his-biographer-as-long-as-he-can-blush/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Thus is his cheek the map of days outworn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thus-is-his-cheek-the-map-of-days-outworn/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I think one of the things we must constantly keep in mind is, 'If anybody hits you on one cheek, turn the other.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/i-think-one-of-the-things-we-must-constantly-keep-in-mind-is-if/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) ## More by Mahatma Gandhi > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/devotion-required-by-the-gita-is-no-soft-hearted-effusiveness/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Religions are not for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religions-are-not-for-separating-men-from-one-another-they-are-meant/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness, though I never completely overcame it. It was impossible for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-only-in-south-africa-that-i-got-over-this-shyness-though-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Where there is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/where-there-is-life/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If it was wrong to seek God in a stone, how was it right to seek Him in a book called the Gita, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-it-was-wrong-to-seek-god-in-a-stone-how-was-it-right-to-seek-him/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spirit-of-democracy-cannot-be-established-in-the-midst-of/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/champions-are-made-from-something-they-have-deep-inside-of-them-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I have no disciples, being myself an aspirant after discipleship and in search of a guru.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-no-disciples-being-myself-an-aspirant-after-discipleship-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Man becomes not the lord and master of all creation but he is its servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-becomes-not-the-lord-and-master-of-all-creation-but-he-is-its/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Explore all 3,284 Mahatma Gandhi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More Cheek quotes > [I think one of the things we must constantly keep in mind is, 'If anybody hits you on one cheek, turn the other.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/i-think-one-of-the-things-we-must-constantly-keep-in-mind-is-if/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [The South is the home of 'an eye for an eye.' 'Turning the other cheek'? The South can't see that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-iles/the-south-is-the-home-of-an-eye-for-an-eye-turning-the-other-cheek/) [Greg Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-iles/) > [I turn my cheek and stay quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/i-turn-my-cheek-and-stay-quiet/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [Thus is his cheek the map of days outworn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thus-is-his-cheek-the-map-of-days-outworn/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [His Cheek is his Biographer- As long as he can blush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/his-cheek-is-his-biographer-as-long-as-he-can-blush/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [You are as innocent as a babys butt cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/you-are-as-innocent-as-a-babys-butt-cheek/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-rogers/it-won-t-mean-you-re-weak-if-you-turn-the-other-cheek/) [Kenny Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-rogers/) > [The natural habitat of the tongue is the left cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-smith/the-natural-habitat-of-the-tongue-is-the-left-cheek/) [Red Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-smith/) > [It was almost a desecration to put a building on the Boulder Turnpike, which is now U.S.-36 and is almost backyards and even junkyards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/it-was-almost-a-desecration-to-put-a-building-on-the-boulder-turnpike/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [Forgiveness isn’t something I’m preoccupied with — turning the other cheek isn’t my trip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/forgiveness-isn-t-something-i-m-preoccupied-with-turning-the-other/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [And you know what - and I don't mean this in tongue in cheek way - but it's like deja vu. When I walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hulk-hogan/and-you-know-what-and-i-don-t-mean-this-in-tongue-in-cheek-way-but-it/) [Hulk Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hulk-hogan/) > [My vigor, vitality and cheek repel me. I am the kind of woman I would run from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-astor/my-vigor-vitality-and-cheek-repel-me-i-am-the-kind-of-woman-i-would/) [Nancy Astor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-astor/) > [I don't deserve any credit for turning the other cheek as my tongue is always in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-don-t-deserve-any-credit-for-turning-the-other-cheek-as-my-tongue/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“I don't understand the logic of turning the other cheek.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobin-loshento/i-don-t-understand-the-logic-of-turning-the-other-cheek/) [Tobin Loshento](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobin-loshento/) > [Even the dullest bird or face becomes interesting when you give it a good look in the wild/flesh. The way the shadow drops across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-woldhek/even-the-dullest-bird-or-face-becomes-interesting-when-you-give-it-a/) [Siegfried Woldhek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-woldhek/) [Browse all 85 Cheek quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheek/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If an enemy strikes your left cheek, offer him your right.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mahatma Gandhi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offer-him-your-right/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cheek" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offer-him-your-right/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/mahatma-gandhi-23_cheek_if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offe_197316.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/mahatma-gandhi-23_cheek_if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offe_197316.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/mahatma-gandhi-23_cheek_if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offe_197316.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If an enemy strikes your left cheek, offer him your right.” — Mahatma Gandhi", "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": "Mahatma Gandhi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If an enemy strikes your left...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offer-him-your-right/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-an-enemy-strikes-your-left-cheek-offer-him-your-right/#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 } } ] } ```