# Quote — Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

> Short human words were never like a short Martian word — such as "grok" which forever meant exactly the same thing. Short human words were like trying to lift water with a knife.
>
> And this had been a very short word.
>
> Smith still felt that he had grokked rightly the human word "God" — the confusion had come from his own failure in selecting other human words. The concept was truly so simple, so basic, so necessary that any nestling could have explained it perfectly — in Martian. The problem, then, was to find human words that would let him speak rightly, make sure that he patterned them rightly to match in fullness how it would be said in his own people's language.
>
> He puzzled briefly over the curious fact that there should be any difficulty in saying it, even in English, since it was a thing everyone knew else they could not grok alive.

- Author: [Robert A. Heinlein](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein.md)
- Book: [Stranger in a Strange Land](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/stranger-in-a-strange-land.md)
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land#Part_Two_:_His_Preposterous_Heritage) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/stranger-in-a-strange-land/short-human-words

## More from this book

> "The golden sunshine of Italy congealed into tears. Here's to the alcoholic brotherhood... much more suited to the frail human soul, if any, than any other sort."

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/stranger-in-a-strange-land/the-golden-sunshine.md)

> Kiss girls all you want to — it beats the hell out of card games.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/stranger-in-a-strange-land/kiss-girls-all.md)

> Share water. Never thirst.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/stranger-in-a-strange-land/share-water-never.md)