Who said “All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.”?

Verified

Ernest Hemingway. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceLetter (9 April 1945); published in Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters 1917–1961 (1981) edited by Carlos Baker

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“All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.”
— Ernest Hemingway
VerifiedLetter (9 April 1945); published in Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters 1917–1961 (1981) edited by Carlos Baker · evidenceWords
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Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Letter (9 April 1945); published in Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters 1917–1961 (1981) edited by Carlos Baker.

APA

Hemingway, E. (n.d.). All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/37564-all-my-life-ive-looked-at-words-as/

MLA

Hemingway, Ernest. “All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/37564-all-my-life-ive-looked-at-words-as/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Hemingway, Ernest. “All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/37564-all-my-life-ive-looked-at-words-as/.

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Original (Yiddish)

אַ קלוגער פֿאַרשטײט פֿון אײן װאָרט צװײ

A kluger farshteyt fun eyn vort tsvey.

VerifiedRecorded in Nahum Stutchkoff, דער אוצר פֿון דער ייִדישער שפּראַך (1950), p. 304 · evidenceDetails & citeWords
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More quotes by Ernest Hemingway

“A man's got to take a lot of punishment to write a really funny book.”
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