Easier said than done

Definition

Something that sounds simple when described but is actually difficult to accomplish in practice.

Etymology

This phrase dates back to the early 15th century, appearing in various forms in English literature. The earliest recorded version was "bet seid than doon" in medieval texts, evolving into the modern form by the 17th century as a way to express the gap between theory and practice.

Kelly Says

This phrase perfectly captures the human tendency to underestimate complexity - psychologists call this the "planning fallacy." Interestingly, the phrase structure itself mirrors its meaning: it's easier to say these four words than to actually demonstrate why something is difficult to do!

Translations

AMአማርኛ
አስቀድሞ መናገር, ከተከሰሰ ማድረግ
as-keh-deh-moh meh-NAH-geh-reh, keh-teh-keh-seh-seh MAH-dreh-geh
ARالعربية
الأسهل قولًا، الصعب فعلًا
al-asehlu qawlan, al-saebu fielan
BNবাংলা
বলা সহজ, করা কঠিন
bola sohoj, kora kothin
CACatalà
més fàcil de dir que de fer
MEH-s FAY-zil deh DEER keh deh FEHR
CSČeština
snadnější říci než udělat
SNAH-dnee-ee REE-kee nyiz YOO-deht
DADansk
lettere sagt end gjort
LEH-theh-reh SAHGT ehn YOHR-t
DEDeutsch
leichter gesagt als getan
LAHKH-tehr geh-ZAHGT ahlz geh-TAHN
ELΕλληνικά
ευκολότερο να πει κανείς παρά να κάνει
ef-koh-LOH-teh-roh NAH peh KAH-nee pah-RAH NAH KAH-nee
ESEspañol
más fácil de decir que de hacer
MAH-s FAY-zil deh DEH-seer keh deh AH-sehr
FAفارسی
آسان‌تر گفتن، سخت‌تر کردن
aasān-tar goftan, sakht-tar kardan
FISuomi
helpommin sanottava kuin tehtävä
heh-poh-meen SAH-noh-tah-vah koo-in TEH-tah-vah
FRFrançais
plus facile à dire qu'à faire
ploo FAY-zil ah DEER koo ah FEHR
GUGU
બોલવું સરળ, કરવું મુશ્કેલ
bol-vum saral, kar-vum mushkel
HAHA
magana sau, aikata sau
MAH-gah-nah SAH-oo, ah-ee-KAH-tah SAH-oo
HEעברית
קל לומר, קשה לעשות
KAHL loh-MEHR, kashah la-AH-soht
HIहिन्दी
कहते हैं आसान, करना मुश्किल
kah-teh HAI aasaan, karnaa mushkil
HUMagyar
könnyebb mondani, mint megtenni
KOH-nyehb MOHN-dah-nee, meent meh-TEH-nee
IDBahasa Indonesia
mudah dikatakan, sulit dilakukan
MOO-dah dee-KAH-tahn, SOO-leht dee-LAH-kahn
IGIG
ọnụ ọnụ dị mfe, Ọrụ dị ogologo
oh-NOO oh-NOO dee MFEH, oh-ROO dee oh-GOH-loh-goh
ITItaliano
più facile a dirsi che a farsi
PYOO FAY-zil ah DEER-see keh ah fah-REH-see
JA日本語
言うは易し
yū wa yasashi
KKKK
айтуға оңай, істеген күрсе
AY-too-gah OH-nay, ee-STEH-gehn KOO-rseh
KMKM
ងាយច្រឡំ, លំបាកធ្វើ
ngiay chrol, lum-baak thvo
KO한국어
말하기는 쉽지만
mal-ha-gi-neun swip-jiman
MRMR
सांगणे सोपे, करणे कठीण
SAHN-gah-neh soh-peh, kah-RAH-neh kath-ee-n
MSBahasa Melayu
mudah dikatakan, sukar dilakukan
MOO-dah dee-KAH-tahn, SOO-kar dee-LAH-kahn
MYမြန်မာ
ပြောရခက်, လုပ်ရခက်
pyaw-ra-khet, loh-pa-khet
NLNederlands
makkelijker gezegd dan gedaan
MAH-keh-lee-ker geh-ZEGT dahn geh-DAHN
NONorsk
lettere sagt enn gjort
LEH-theh-reh SAHGT ehn YOHR-t
PAPA
ਆਖਣਾ ਸੌਖਾ, ਕਰਨਾ ਔਖਾ
AA-kh-nah SAH-khah, kahr-NAH oh-khah
PLPolski
łatwiej powiedzieć niż zrobić
WAHN-cheh POH-vee-deech nyiz ZROH-beech
PTPortuguês
mais fácil de dizer do que de fazer
MAH-eez FAY-zil deh DEH-zehr doh keh deh fah-ZEHR
RORomână
mai ușor de spus decât de făcut
MAH-ee oo-SHOHR deh SPOOS deh-KAHT deh fah-KOO-t
RUРусский
легче сказать, чем сделать
LEH-cheh skah-ZAHT, CHEHM sdeh-LAHT
SVSvenska
lättare sagt än gjort
LAH-tah-reh SAHGT ehn YOHR-t
SWKiswahili
rahisi kusema, ni vigumu kufanya
rah-HEE-see koo-SEH-mah, nee vee-GOO-moo koo-FAH-nyah
TAதமிழ்
சொல்வது எளிது, செய்வது கடினம்
sol-vathu elithu, seivathu kathinam
TEతెలుగు
చెప్పడం సులభం, చేయడం కష్టం
cheppaDam sulabham, cheyadaM kashTaM
THไทย
พูดได้ง่าย แต่ทำได้ยาก
phuut dai ngaae, tae tham dai yaak
TLTL
madali sabihin, mahirap gawin
MAH-dee-lee SAH-bee-heen, MAH-hee-rap GOW-in
TRTürkçe
söylemesi yapmasından daha kolay
soy-leh-MEH-see yahp-mahs-in-dan dah-hah koh-LAH-y
UKУкраїнська
легше сказати, ніж зробити
LEH-sheh SKAH-zah-tee, nyiz ZROH-by-ty
URاردو
کہنا آسان، کرنا مشکل
kehna aasaan, karna mushkil
VITiếng Việt
dễ nói hơn làm
deh NOH-ee hohn LAHM
YOYO
rọrun, ṣe pọ
roh-ROON, shay POH
ZH中文
说起来容易
shuō qǐ lái róng yì
ZUZU
kukhuluma kungcono, kwenza kungcono
koo-khoo-LOO-mah koon-goh-NOH, kwehn-zah koon-goh-NOH

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.