Phrase guide

the pen is mightier than the sword

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

More influence and power can be usurped by writing than by fighting.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, metonymically

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

This phrasing due to Bulwer-Lytton, 1839. The sentiment is traditional, and has many antecedents; see Wikipedia.

Across languages

Translations

28 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Azerbaijani: qələm qılıncdan itidir — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Azerbaijani: qələm qılıncdan kəskindir — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Azerbaijani: qələm qılıncdan kəsərlidir — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Azerbaijani: qələm yazanı qılınc poza bilməz — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Burmese: ဓားသွားထက် ကလောင်သွားထက် (dha:swa:htak ka.laungswa:htak) — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Chinese Mandarin: 文勝於武,筆勝於劍 /文胜于武 — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Chinese Mandarin: 笔胜于剑 (wén shèng yú wǔ, bǐ shèng yú jiàn) — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Danish: pennen er mægtigere end sværdet — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Esperanto: plumo estas pli potenca ol spado — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Estonian: sõna vägi on suurem kui sõjavägi — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Finnish: kynä on miekkaa mahtavampi — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • French: la plume est plus forte que l’épée — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • German: die Feder ist mächtiger als die Klinge — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Greek: η γλώσσα κόκαλα δεν έχει μα κόκαλα τσακίζει (i glóssa kókala den échei ma kókala tsakízei) — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Italian: ne uccide più la penna della spada — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Italian: la penna ferisce più della spada — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Japanese: ペンは剣よりも強し (pen wa ken yori mo tsuyoshi) — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Latin: cedant arma togae — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Norwegian Bokmål: pennen er mektigere enn sverdet — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: pennen er mektigare enn sverdet — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Polish: pióro jest silniejsze od miecza — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Portuguese: a pena é mais forte que a espada — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Portuguese: a pena é mais forte do que a espada — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Spanish: la pluma es más poderosa que la espada — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Swedish: pennan är mäktigare än svärdet — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Telugu: కత్తి కన్నా కలం మిన్న (katti kannā kalaṁ minna) — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Thai: ปากกาคมกว่าดาบ (bpàak-gaa-kom-gwàa-dàap) — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
  • Turkish: kalem kılıçtan keskindir — more power can be usurped by writing than fighting