73 Inspirational Quotes by Franz Kafka That Will Motivate You to Go for Your Goals

Last updated on January 29, 2023

Franz Kafka (born 3 July 1883, Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, Austria-Hungary – died 3 June 1924, Kierling, part of Klosterneuburg, Lower Austria, Austria) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer who is widely regarded as one of the major figures of twentieth-century literature. His stories include 'The Metamorphosis' (1912) and 'In the Penal Colony' (1914), while his novels are 'The Trial' (1925), 'The Castle' (1926) and 'Amerika' (1927).

The work of Franz Kafka expresses the essential absurdity of modern society, particularly the impersonal nature of bureaucracy and capitalism. At the end of his life, Kafka asked his lifelong friend and literary executor Max Brod to burn all his unpublished work. Brod overrode those wishes.

21 Incredible Quotes by Franz Kafka

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. ― Franz Kafka — 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.

Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old. ― Franz Kafka — Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.

Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self. ― Franz Kafka — Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self.

If you find someone who makes you smile, who checks up on you often to see if you're okay. Who watches out or you and wants the best for you. Who loves and respects you. Don't let them go. People like that are hard to find. ― Franz Kafka — If you find someone who makes you smile, who checks up on you often to see if you're okay. Who watches out or you and wants the best for you. Who loves and respects you. Don't let them go. People like that are hard to find.

Life's splendor forever lies in wait about each one of us in all its fullness, but veiled from view, deep down, invisible, far off. It is there, though, not hostile, not reluctant, not deaf. If you summon it by the right word, by its right name, it will come.
Franz Kafka

It’s only because of their stupidity that they’re able to be so sure of themselves. ― Franz Kafka — It’s only because of their stupidity that they’re able to be so sure of themselves.

By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired. ― Franz Kafka — By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.

I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? So that it will make us happy, as you write? Good Lord, we would be happy precisely if we had no books, and the kind of books that make us happy are the kind we could write ourselves if we had to. But we need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is my belief.
Franz Kafka

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. ― Franz Kafka — 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.

He is terribly afraid of dying because he hasn’t yet lived. ― Franz Kafka — He is terribly afraid of dying because he hasn’t yet lived.

Association with human beings lures one into self-observation. ― Franz Kafka — Association with human beings lures one into self-observation.

Anyone who cannot come to terms with his life while he is alive needs one hand to ward off a little his despair over his fate… but with his other hand he can note down what he sees among the ruins. ― Franz Kafka — Anyone who cannot come to terms with his life while he is alive needs one hand to ward off a little his despair over his fate… but with his other hand he can note down what he sees among the ruins.

I usually solve problems by letting them devour me. ― Franz Kafka — I usually solve problems by letting them devour me.

Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable. ― Franz Kafka — Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable.

May I kiss you then? On this miserable paper? I might as well open the window and kiss the night air. ― Franz Kafka — May I kiss you then? On this miserable paper? I might as well open the window and kiss the night air.

So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being. ― Franz Kafka — So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.

You can hold yourself back from the sufferings of the world, that is something you are free to do and it accords with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could avoid. ― Franz Kafka — You can hold yourself back from the sufferings of the world, that is something you are free to do and it accords with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could avoid.

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. ― Franz Kafka — 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.

Better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have. ― Franz Kafka — Better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have.

There are two cardinal sins from which all others spring: impatience and laziness. ― Franz Kafka — There are two cardinal sins from which all others spring: impatience and laziness.

I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself. ― Franz Kafka — I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.

7 Franz Kafka Quotes about Love

I no longer know If I wish to drown myself in love, vodka or the sea. ― Franz Kafka — I no longer know If I wish to drown myself in love, vodka or the sea.

I want in fact more of you. In my mind I am dressing you with light; I am wrapping you up in blankets of complete acceptance and then I give myself to you. I long for you; I who usually long without longing, as though I am unconscious and absorbed in neutrality and apathy, really, utterly long for every bit of you.
Franz Kafka

I can love only what I can place so high above me that I cannot reach it. ― Franz Kafka — I can love only what I can place so high above me that I cannot reach it.

In argument similes are like songs in love; they describe much, but prove nothing. ― Franz Kafka — In argument similes are like songs in love; they describe much, but prove nothing.

I can’t think of any greater happiness than to be with you all the time, without interruption, endlessly, even though I feel that here in this world there’s no undisturbed place for our love, neither in the village nor anywhere else; and I dream of a grave, deep and narrow, where we could clasp each other in our arms as with clamps, and I would hide my face in you and you would hide your face in me, and nobody would ever see us any more.
Franz Kafka

Every thing that you love, you will eventually lose, but in the end, love will return in a different form. ― Franz Kafka — Every thing that you love, you will eventually lose, but in the end, love will return in a different form.

4 Franz Kafka Quotes on Writing and Reading

I’m tired, can’t think of anything and want only to lay my face in your lap, feel your hand on my head and remain like that through all eternity. ― Franz Kafka — I’m tired, can’t think of anything and want only to lay my face in your lap, feel your hand on my head and remain like that through all eternity.

A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. ― Franz Kafka — A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.

I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us. ― Franz Kafka — I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us.

Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself. ― Franz Kafka — Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself.

One advantage in keeping a diary is that you become aware with reassuring clarity of the changes which you constantly suffer. ― Franz Kafka — One advantage in keeping a diary is that you become aware with reassuring clarity of the changes which you constantly suffer.

3 Franz Kafka Quotes on Freedom

I am free and that is why I am lost. ― Franz Kafka — I am free and that is why I am lost.

I am a cage, in search of a bird. ― Franz Kafka — I am a cage, in search of a bird.

You can choose to be free, but it’s last decision you’ll ever make. ― Franz Kafka — You can choose to be free, but it’s last decision you’ll ever make.

14 Franz Kafka Quotes about Life

Only the moment counts. It determines life. ― Franz Kafka — Only the moment counts. It determines life.

Do not waste your time looking for an obstacle – maybe there is none. ― Franz Kafka — Do not waste your time looking for an obstacle – maybe there is none.

God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them. ― Franz Kafka — God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them.

The meaning of life is that it stops. ― Franz Kafka — The meaning of life is that it stops.

He who seeks does not find, but he who does not seek will be found. ― Franz Kafka — He who seeks does not find, but he who does not seek will be found.

I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy. ― Franz Kafka — I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy.

Isolation is a way to know ourselves. ― Franz Kafka — Isolation is a way to know ourselves.

A first sign of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die. ― Franz Kafka — A first sign of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die.

I do not see the world at all; I invent it. ― Franz Kafka — I do not see the world at all; I invent it.

I have spent my life resisting the desire to end it. ― Franz Kafka — I have spent my life resisting the desire to end it.

I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events; I feel that I have experienced nothing, learned nothing, that I actually know less than the average schoolboy, and that what I do know is superficial, and that every second question is beyond me. I am incapable of thinking deliberately; my thoughts run into a wall. I can grasp the essence of things in isolation, but I am quite incapable of coherent, unbroken thinking. I can’t even tell a story properly; in fact, I can scarcely talk.
Franz Kafka

Not everyone can see the truth, but he can be it. ― Franz Kafka — Not everyone can see the truth, but he can be it.

Idleness is the beginning of all vice, the crown of all virtues. ― Franz Kafka — Idleness is the beginning of all vice, the crown of all virtues.

Slept, awoke, slept, awoke, miserable life. ― Franz Kafka — Slept, awoke, slept, awoke, miserable life.

24 Franz Kafka Quotes to Motivate You

There is an infinite amount of hope in the universe... but not for us. ― Franz Kafka — There is an infinite amount of hope in the universe... but not for us.

I never wish to be easily defined. I’d rather float over other people’s minds as something strictly fluid and non-perceivable; more like a transparent, paradoxically iridescent creature rather than an actual person. ― Franz Kafka — I never wish to be easily defined. I’d rather float over other people’s minds as something strictly fluid and non-perceivable; more like a transparent, paradoxically iridescent creature rather than an actual person.

How pathetically scanty my self-knowledge is compared with, say, my knowledge of my room. There is no such thing as observation of the inner world, as there is of the outer world. ― Franz Kafka — How pathetically scanty my self-knowledge is compared with, say, my knowledge of my room. There is no such thing as observation of the inner world, as there is of the outer world.

People label themselves with all sorts of adjectives. I can only pronounce myself as 'nauseatingly miserable beyond repair'. ― Franz Kafka — People label themselves with all sorts of adjectives. I can only pronounce myself as 'nauseatingly miserable beyond repair'.

Don’t despair, not even over the fact that you don’t despair. ― Franz Kafka — Don’t despair, not even over the fact that you don’t despair.

There are times when I am convinced I am unfit for any human relationship. ― Franz Kafka — There are times when I am convinced I am unfit for any human relationship.

A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity. ― Franz Kafka — A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity.

Books are a narcotic. ― Franz Kafka — Books are a narcotic.

All language is but a poor translation. ― Franz Kafka — All language is but a poor translation.

From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached. ― Franz Kafka — From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached.

We live in an age which is so possessed by demons, that soon we shall only be able to do goodness and justice in the deepest secrecy, as if it were a crime. ― Franz Kafka — We live in an age which is so possessed by demons, that soon we shall only be able to do goodness and justice in the deepest secrecy, as if it were a crime.

Paths are made by walking. ― Franz Kafka — Paths are made by walking.

I am constantly trying to communicate something incommunicable, to explain something inexplicable, to tell about something I only feel in my bones and which can only be experienced in those bones. Basically it is nothing other than this fear we have so often talked about, but fear spread to everything, fear of the greatest as of the smallest, fear, paralyzing fear of pronouncing a word, although this fear may not only be fear but also a longing for something greater than all that is fearful.
Franz Kafka

I do not read advertisements. I would spend all of my time wanting things. ― Franz Kafka — I do not read advertisements. I would spend all of my time wanting things.

Productivity is being able to do things that you were never able to do before. ― Franz Kafka — Productivity is being able to do things that you were never able to do before.

If you become involved with me, you will be throwing yourself into the abyss. ― Franz Kafka — If you become involved with me, you will be throwing yourself into the abyss.

There are only two things. Truth and lies. Truth is indivisible, hence it cannot recognize itself; anyone who wants to recognize it has to be a lie. ― Franz Kafka — There are only two things. Truth and lies. Truth is indivisible, hence it cannot recognize itself; anyone who wants to recognize it has to be a lie.

Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy. ― Franz Kafka — Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.

Evil is whatever distracts. ― Franz Kafka — Evil is whatever distracts.

Nothing is as deceptive as a photograph. ― Franz Kafka — Nothing is as deceptive as a photograph.

The mediation by the serpent was necessary. Evil can seduce man, but cannot become man. ― Franz Kafka — The mediation by the serpent was necessary. Evil can seduce man, but cannot become man.

It is often safer to be in chains than to be free. ― Franz Kafka — It is often safer to be in chains than to be free.

In a way, you are poetry material; You are full of cloudy subtleties I am willing to spend a lifetime figuring out. Words burst in your essence and you carry their dust in the pores of your ethereal individuality. ― Franz Kafka — In a way, you are poetry material; You are full of cloudy subtleties I am willing to spend a lifetime figuring out. Words burst in your essence and you carry their dust in the pores of your ethereal individuality.

A lawyer is a person who writes a 10,000-word document and calls it a “brief.” ― Franz Kafka — A lawyer is a person who writes a 10,000-word document and calls it a “brief.”