Phrase guide

time will tell

phrase · 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

phrase

Meaning 1

Events and outcomes cannot be known beforehand.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • This may not be a good idea, but time will tell.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

38 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bashkir: күҙ күрер (küź kürer) — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Catalan: el temps ho dirà — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Chinese Mandarin: 時間會證明一切 /时间会证明一切 (shíjiān huì zhèngmíng yīqiè) — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Dutch: de tijd zal het leren — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Dutch: de tijd zal 't leren — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Finnish: aika näyttää — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Finnish: sen näkee sitten — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • French: l'avenir le dira — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • French: qui vivra, verra — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • French: l'avenir nous le dira — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Galician: o tempo dirá — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • German: das wird sich weisen — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • German: das wird sich zeigen — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • German: die Zeit wird es zeigen — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • German: die Zukunft wird es zeigen — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • German: das steht in den Sternen — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Greek: ο χρόνος θα δείξει (o chrónos tha deíxei) — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Hebrew: ימים יגידו (yamím yagídu) — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Hungarian: majd kiderül — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Hungarian: majd meglátjuk — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Hungarian: majd elválik — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Italian: chi vivrà vedrà — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Italian: il tempo lo dirà — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Italian: se son rose fioriranno — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Japanese: 時間がたてば分かる (jikan-ga tateba wakaru) — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Khmer: ពេលវេលានឹងប្រាប់ (peil veiliə nɨng prap) — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Korean: 시간이 말해 (sigani malhae) — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Lithuanian: laikas parodys — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Low German: Tiet will dat wiesen — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Low German: de Tiet schall dat wiesen — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Norman: la fîn du temps f'tha tout vaie — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Polish: czas pokaże — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Portuguese: o tempo dirá — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Romanian: timpul va decide — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Russian: вре́мя покажет (vrémja pokažet) — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Spanish: el tiempo dirá — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Swedish: tiden får utvisa — results of an action cannot be known beforehand
  • Swedish: den som lever får se — results of an action cannot be known beforehand