--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It hurts not the tongue to give fair words." description: "\"It hurts not the tongue to give fair words.\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/william-shakespeare-4_giving_it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-fair-wor_576637.jpg" --- # It hurts not the tongue to give fair words. ![“It hurts not the tongue to give fair words.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/william-shakespeare-4_giving_it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-fair-wor_576637.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/william-shakespeare-4_giving_it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-fair-wor_576637.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/william-shakespeare-4_giving_it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-fair-wor_576637.jpg) > “It hurts not the tongue to give fair words.” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Speaking truthfully can be painful, yet it spares the heart from deceit. **In simple terms:** Honest words hurt less than lies. Key Takeaway Choose honesty to protect emotional health. Themes truth communication integrity pain Mood reflective serious Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - conflict resolution - personal relationships - public speaking - leadership Key Concepts ethical philosophy rhetoric emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - When is it better to soften truth? - How does honesty affect trust? A Different Perspective Harsh truth can damage relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > [It hurts not the tongue to give faire words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-faire-words/) [John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/) > [Will Fortune never come with both hands full, But write her fair words still in foulest terms?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/will-fortune-never-come-with-both-hands-full-but-write-her-fair-words/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Fair words never hurt the tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chapman/fair-words-never-hurt-the-tongue/) [George Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chapman/) > [“Let dangers go; thy war shall be with me, But such a war, as breaks no bonds of peace. 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I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [You've touched people and known it. 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I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I don't think my relationship with the idea of womanhood is that attached to giving birth... like, I'm fully aware that I'll never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-harrison/i-don-t-think-my-relationship-with-the-idea-of-womanhood-is-that/) [Patti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-harrison/) [Browse all 39,303 Giving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It hurts not the tongue to give fair words.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-fair-words/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Giving" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-fair-words/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/william-shakespeare-4_giving_it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-fair-wor_576637.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/william-shakespeare-4_giving_it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-fair-wor_576637.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/william-shakespeare-4_giving_it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-fair-wor_576637.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It hurts not the tongue to give fair words.” — William Shakespeare", "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": "William Shakespeare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It hurts not the tongue to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-fair-words/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/it-hurts-not-the-tongue-to-give-fair-words/#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 } } ] } ```