saying

{{Short description|Concise expression memorable for its meaning}}

{{More citations needed|date=November 2019}}

{{Literature}}

A saying is any concise expression that is especially memorable because of its meaning or style. A saying often shows a wisdom or cultural standard, having different meanings than just the words themselves.{{Cite web |date=14 October 2024 |title=Cambridge Dictionary |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/saying |website=Cambridge Dictionary}} Sayings are categorized as follows:

• Aphorism: a general, observational truth; "a pithy expression of wisdom or truth".{{cite book |last1=Randall |first1=Bernice |title=When Is a Pig a Hog ? – A Guide to Confoundingly Related English Words |date=1 January 1997 |publisher=Bbs Pub Corp |isbn=978-0883659779 |page=113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VCcIJq1LgCsC |access-date=27 October 2023}}
• Proverb, adage or saw: a widely known or popular aphorism that has gained credibility by long use or tradition.
• Apothegm/Apophthegm: "an edgy, more cynical aphorism; such as, 'Men are generally more careful of the breed of their horses and dogs than of their children.'"{{cite book|last=Rovin|first=Jeff |title=What's the Difference? A Compendium of Commonly Confused and Misused Words|year=1994|publisher=Ballantine Books|location=New York}}
• Axiom: a proposition that commends itself to general acceptance; a well-established or universally conceded principle; a maxim, rule, or law.Oxford English Dictionary Online, accessed 2012-04-28
• Cliché or bromide: an unoriginal and overused saying.
• Platitude: a cliché that is unsuccessfully presented as though it were meaningful, original, or effective.
• Epigram: a clever and often poetic written saying that comments on a specific person, idea, or thing; it especially denominates such a saying that is conspicuously put at the beginning of a text.
• Epitaph: a saying in honor of a decedent, often engraved on a headstone or plaque.
• Epithet: a descriptive word or saying already widely associated with a specific person, idea, or thing.
• Idiom or phraseme: a saying that has only a non-literal interpretation; "an expression whose meaning can't be derived simply by hearing it, such as 'kick the bucket.'"
• Four-character idiom:
• Chengyu: Chinese four-character idioms
• Sajaseong-eo: Korean form of four-character idioms
• Yojijukugo: Japanese form of four-character idioms
• Mantra: a religious, mystical, or other spiritual saying that is repeated, for example, in meditation.
• Maxim: (1) an instructional expression of a general principle or rule of morality or (2) simply a synonym for "aphorism"; they include:
• Brocard
• Gnome
• Legal maxim
• Motto: a saying used frequently by a person or group to summarize its general mission.
• Credo: a motto implicitly or explicitly extended to express a larger belief system.
• Slogan: a motto with the goal of persuading.
• Quip: a clever or humorous saying based on an observation.
• Witticism: a saying that is clever and usually humorous and that is notable for its form or style just as much as, or more than, its meaning.