100 Top & Most Popular Franz Kafka Quotes

1. “In man’s struggle against the world, bet on the world.”
2. “I am a cage, in search of a bird.”
3. “All language is but a poor translation.”
4. “I am a solitary man, and my thoughts are silence.”
5. “The meaning of life is that it stops.”
6. “The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”
7. “In the struggle between yourself and the world, second the world.”
8. “There are some things one can only achieve by a deliberate leap in the opposite direction.”
9. “Don’t despair, not even over the fact that you don’t despair.”
10. “It’s often safer to be in chains than to be free.”
11. “Believing in progress does not mean believing that any progress has yet been made.”
12. “The true way is along a rope that is not spanned high in the air, but only just above the ground.”
13. “I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy.”
14. “From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached.”
15. “In the midst of winter, I found there was within me an invincible summer.”
16. “There is hope, but not for us.”
17. “In every person there is a point where they cannot go farther. If you reach it, it’s the end.”
18. “Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.”
19. “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
20. “The only way to deal with fear is to face it head on.”
21. “The meaning of life is that it stops.”
22. “We are all struggling to escape our own darkness.”
23. “One of the first signs of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die.”
24. “Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable.”
25. “The meaning of life is that it stops.”
26. “Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”
27. “I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses.”
28. “From now on, I’ll describe the main character in my novel as a man with no name.”
29. “A first sign of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die.”
30. “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”
31. “I write differently from what I speak, I speak differently from what I think, I think differently from the way I ought to think, and so it all proceeds into deepest darkness.”
32. “All knowledge, the totality of all questions and answers, is contained in the dog.”
33. “I have the impression that I have been going in circles, always circling back to the same point.”
34. “So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.”
35. “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.”
36. “By imposing too great a responsibility, or rather, all responsibility, on yourself, you crush yourself.”

37. “By imposing too great a responsibility, or rather, all responsibility, on yourself, you crush yourself.”
38. “Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self.”
39. “All I can do is be me, whoever that is.”
40. “I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a cup of coffee at the right moment can be a miracle.”
41. “You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”
42. “The world is only a kind of illusion that a person creates in his own head, it is only a reflection of his own passions.”
43. “The truth is always an abyss. One must — as in a swimming pool — dare to dive from the quivering springboard of trivial everyday experience and sink into the depths, in order to later rise again — laughing and fighting for breath — to the now doubly illuminated surface of things.”
44. “Writing is a sweet, wonderful reward, but it is not its own reward. It is the reward of those who read.”
45. “It’s only because of their stupidity that they’re able to be so sure of themselves.”
46. “From now on, I’ll describe the main character in my novel as a man with no name.”
47. “All things are known to the universe, but only a few to humans.”
48. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
49. “The world is a great circus, always moving faster and faster.”
50. “It’s only when we have lost everything that we are free to do anything.”
51. “There is an infinite amount of hope in the universe… but not for us.”
52. “There are two cardinal sins from which all the others spring: impatience and laziness.”
53. “We ought to read only books that wound or stab us.”
54. “We are like lambs in a field, disporting themselves under the eye of the butcher, who chooses out first one and then another for his prey.”
55. “The machinery of government is always a machinery of violence.”
56. “One of the first signs of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die.”
57. “A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.”
58. “I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.”
59. “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
60. “I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy.”
61. “The belief in God has been one of the most potent forces in the evolution of human culture.”
62. “I am a memory come alive.”
63. “A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.”
64. “As long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.”
65. “A cage went in search of a bird.”
66. “The world is a mess, and I just need to rule it.”
67. “A single truth, learned at great cost, is worth more than a thousand truths that come easy.”

68. “I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses.”
69. “It is often safer to be in chains than to be free.”
70. “I am a stranger to myself, and shall be until I die.”
71. “So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.”
72. “What do I care about the purring of one who cannot love, like the cat?”
73. “The terrible thing is that one cannot be sure whether he is dreaming or not.”
74. “There are some things you can only learn in a storm.”
75. “It’s only because of their stupidity that they’re able to be so sure of themselves.”
76. “There are infinite worlds both like and unlike this world of ours…we must believe that in all worlds there are living creatures and plants and other things we see in this world.”
77. “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”
78. “One must not cheat anyone, not even the world of its triumph.”
79. “I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy.”
80. “All language is but a poor translation.”
81. “I am a cage, in search of a bird.”
82. “The lie of the soul is the eternal part of me.”
83. “Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”
84. “One can never be alone enough to write; the thing to be done is to catch the fish and bring it home.”
85. “The meaning of life is that it stops.”
86. “I need solitude for my writing; not ‘like a hermit’ — that wouldn’t be enough — but like a dead man.”
87. “The world will offer itself to you to be unmasked, it can’t do otherwise.”
88. “A first sign of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die.”
89. “In man’s struggle against the world, bet on the world.”
90. “A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.”
91. “Don’t despair, not even over the fact that you don’t despair.”
92. “You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”
93. “The experience of life consists of the experience which the spirit has of itself in matter and as matter, in mind and as mind, in emotion, as emotion, etc.”
94. “The paths of life are many, but the path of remorse is the longest.”
95. “The true way is not along the main road or in the center of a town, but in the depths of the forest or at the heart of the crossroads.”
96. “I am a dreamer. I know so little of real life that I just can’t help re-living such moments as these in my dreams, for such moments are something I have very rarely experienced. I am going to dream about you the whole night, the whole week, the whole year.”
97. “The possibilities of the universe are infinite – even the smallest change can bring about the greatest consequences.”

99. “My ‘fear’ is my substance, and probably the best part of me.”

100. “In the struggle between yourself and the world, side with the world.”

FAQs:

Who was Franz Kafka?

Franz Kafka was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature.

What are some of Kafka’s most famous works?

Kafka is best known for his novels “The Trial,” “The Castle,” and “Amerika,” as well as his short stories, including “The Metamorphosis,” “In the Penal Colony,” and “The Hunger Artist.”

When was Kafka born?

Kafka was born in Prague, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) on July 3, 1883.

When did Kafka die?

Kafka died on June 3, 1924, at the age of 40, from complications of tuberculosis.

What was Kafka’s writing style?

Kafka’s writing style was characterized by his use of surreal, nightmarish imagery, as well as his exploration of themes related to isolation, alienation, and bureaucracy.

What was Kafka’s personal life like?

Kafka was a shy and introverted person, who had a difficult relationship with his father. He never married, and had few close relationships throughout his life.

Was Kafka’s work appreciated during his lifetime?

Kafka’s work was largely unrecognized during his lifetime, and he published only a few works in his lifetime. It was only after his death that his work began to gain critical and popular acclaim.

What influence did Kafka have on literature?

Kafka’s work has had a significant influence on literature, philosophy, and popular culture. His use of surrealism and themes of isolation and bureaucracy have been echoed in the works of many other writers and artists.

What was Kafka’s legacy?

Kafka is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, and his work continues to be studied and appreciated around the world. His themes of alienation, isolation, and the struggle to find meaning in a complex and oppressive world continue to resonate with readers today.

What is Kafkaesque?

“Kafkaesque” is a term used to describe situations that are nightmarish, surreal, or absurd, often characterized by a sense of helplessness or oppression. The term is often used to describe situations or systems that are bureaucratic, confusing, or oppressive, in a way that echoes Kafka’s own work.