Phrase guide

children should be seen and not heard

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

proverb

Meaning 1

Children should behave well and be quiet, especially in the presence of adults.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 小孩子應該少說話 — children should be quiet
  • Chinese Mandarin: 小孩子应该少说话 (xiǎo háizi yīnggāi shǎo shuōhuà) — children should be quiet
  • Chinese Mandarin: 大人說話 — children should be quiet
  • Chinese Mandarin: 小孩子別插嘴 — children should be quiet
  • Chinese Mandarin: 大人说话 — children should be quiet
  • Chinese Mandarin: 小孩子别插嘴 (dàrén shuōhuà, xiǎoháizi bié chāzuǐ) — children should be quiet
  • Finnish: lasten pitää näkyä, mutta ei kuulua — children should be quiet
  • Polish: dzieci i ryby głosu nie mają — children should be quiet
  • Russian: дете́й должно́ быть ви́дно, но не слы́шно (detéj dolžnó bytʹ vídno, no ne slýšno) — children should be quiet