70 Crying Quotes About This Uniquely Human Trait

Crying is a natural human response and these crying quotes explain what an important part of life it is.

Many human emotions can elicit tears from our eyes—sadness, joy, and anger, just to name a few.

Obviously, people think of sadness when they hear the word crying.

However, any powerful emotion can make your eyes well up.

How often have you cried tears of joy?

Think of those moments when the happiness is so overwhelming and your body needed to express it.

I often cry when I am angry.

It’s something that drives me kind of crazy because people assume they have hurt my feelings.

They haven’t; they have just pushed my anger to where it needed to come out physically, and beating up people is frowned upon.

Did you know human beings are the only animals that cry?

Just how often do we do it?

Are there any health benefits to crying?

Keep reading through these crying quotes to learn the answers to these questions, and some other interesting facts about the salty tears that leak from our eyes.

Don’t forget to also check out these laughter quotes proving why it’s the best medicine.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration.

Our inspirational quotes category page has all of our motivational quotes for all the different areas of life.

Short crying quotes

1. “Don’t cry over someone who wouldn’t cry over you.” ― Lauren Conrad

2. “Those who do not weep, do not see.” ― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

3. “If you’ve never eaten while crying, you don’t know what life tastes like.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

4. “To hide feelings when you are near crying is the secret of dignity.” ― Dejan Stojanovic

5. “Life is like an onion; you peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.” ― Carl Sandburg

6. “I shed more tears than God could ever have required.” ― Arthur Rimbaud, Illuminations

7. “More and more, the hardest part of crying is when I can’t stop.” ― Chuck Palahniuk, Choke

8. “I never guessed I could cry so hard my face hurt.” ― Vernor Vinge, A Fire Upon the Deep

9. “People can cry much easier than they can change.” ― James Baldwin

10. “Tears never were worth the effort of crying them.” ― Mary Balogh, The Devil’s Web

Crying quotes about not being ashamed

11. “Don’t be ashamed to weep; ’tis right to grieve. Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water.” ― Brian Jacques, Taggerung

12. “We need never be ashamed of our tears.” ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

13. “Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert

14. “Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before–more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.” ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

15. “If you haven’t cried, your eyes can’t be beautiful.” — Sophia Loren

16. “Crying is never a symbol of weakness. For the time we are born, it has always been a sign that we are alive….” — Unknown

17. “Crying doesn’t mean you’re weak … Sometimes it’s what you need to do to get strong again” — J.W. Lynne

18. “You can cry, ain’t no shame in it.” — Will Smith

19. “It’s okay that we’re not perfect. It’s okay that we all have problems. It’s okay to cry, to show emotions.” — Marina Abramovic

20. “No matter how big you get, it’s still okay to cry because everybody’s got a right to their own tears.” — Jacqueline Woodson

Crying quotes about release and cleansing

21. “…you know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better, even if your circumstances have not changed one bit.” ― Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning

22. “There is an ancient tribal proverb I once heard in India. It says that before we can see properly we must first shed our tears to clear the way.” ― Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing

23. “To cry was to release all sorts of ugly little pressures and tensions. Like waking out of a long, dark dream to a sun-filled day.” ― Anne McCaffrey, Nerilka’s Story

24. “Crying relieves pressure on soul.” ― Toba Beta, Master of Stupidity

25. “Crying is cleansing. There’s a reason for tears, happiness or sadness.” — Dionne Warwick

26. “It opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes, and softens down the temper; so cry away.” — Charles Dickens

27. “Tears are the summer showers to the soul.” — Alfred Austin

28. “What soap is for the body, tears are for the soul.” — Jewish Proverb

29. “Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it.” — Albert Smith

30. “Every tear I have shed, purifies my soul.” — Lailah Gifty Akita

Crying quotes about laughter

31. “Sometimes crying or laughing are the only options left, and laughing feels better right now.” ― Veronica Roth, Divergent

32. “Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don’t know how to laugh either” ― Golda Meir

33. “Laugh now, cry later.” ― Erma Bombeck

34. “At some point, I had to start laughing, because I was all wrung out from crying.” ― Julie Metz

35. “My body needs laughter as much as it needs tears. Both are cleansers of stress.” — Mahogany SilverRain

36. “Laugh till you weep. Weep till there’s nothing left but to laugh at your weeping. In the end it’s all one.” — Frederick Buechner

37. “The tears of the world are a constant quality. For each one who begins to weep, somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh.” — Samuel Beckett

38. “There are people who laugh to show their fine teeth; and there are those who cry to show their good hearts.” — Joseph Roux

39. “Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.” — Kurt Vonnegut

40. “Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.” — Steel Magnolias

Crying quotes about moving on and the truth about tears

41. “Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair

42. “Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness.” ― Steve Maraboli

43. “If somebody hurts you, it’s okay to cry a river, just remember to build a bridge and get over it.” — Taylor Swift

44. “Shining through tears, like April suns in showers, that labor to overcome the cloud that loads em.” — Thomas Otway

45. “It’s no good crying over spilt milk, because all the forces of the universe were bent on spilling it.” — William Somerset Maugham

46. “Weeping is not the same thing as crying. It takes your whole body to weep, and when it’s over, you feel like you don’t have any bones left to hold you up.” ― Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer

47. “There you go… let it all slide out. Unhappiness can’t stick in a person’s soul when it’s slick with tears.” ― Shannon Hale, Princess Academy

48. “Your tears come easy, when you’re young, and beginning the world. Your tears come easy, when you’re old, and leaving it. I burst out crying.” ― Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone

49. “People are not always very tolerant of the tears which they themselves have provoked.” ― Marcel Proust, The Captive & The Fugitive

50. “Guys always think tears are a sign of weakness. They’re a sign of FRUSTRATION. She’s only crying so she won’t cut your throat in your sleep. So make nice and be grateful.” ― Donna Barr

Crying Quotes To Pour Out Your Emotions

51. “Crying is good for the soul. It means something needs to be released. And if you don’t release the something, it just weighs you down until you can hardly move.” ― Erin Entrada Kelly

52. “Crying often leads to emotional relief for people with depression.” — John Preston

53. “Honest honey, I feel like crying every time I sit down to write you a letter… I am so unlucky.” — Eddie Slovik

54. “It takes a real secure man to understand it’s okay to cry and an even wiser one to teach that it’s okay.” ― Carlos Wallace

55. “Have a good cry, wash out your heart. If you keep it inside, it’ll tear you apart. Sometimes you lose, but you’re gonna win if you just hang in.” — Dr. Hook

56. “When someone is crying, of course, the noble thing to do is to comfort them. But if someone is trying to hide their tears, it may also be noble to pretend you do not notice them.” — Lemony Snicke

57. “I heard the teardrop hit my pillow before I even knew I was crying.” — Amborella Oltre

58. “Crying in the rain. No one sees your tears and your pain gets washed away.” ― Elizabeth Bourgeret

59. “Crying is not a sign of weakness, and you can still get things done when you’re crying.” — John Preston

60. “If you wish to cry, cry.” — Lailah Gifty Akita

61. “I used to cry myself to sleep every night. I missed singing so much. And performing. Man, I missed it so much.” ― Ronnie Spector

62. When peoples care for you and cry for you, they can straighten out your soul.” ― Langston Hughes

63. “You cried when He took away your drop of water, not knowing He’d saved for you, the sea.” ― Yasmin Mogahed

64. There is fatigue so great that the body cries, even in its sleep.” ― Martha Graham

65. “I just can’t get over how much babies cry. I really had no idea what I was getting into. To tell you the truth, I thought it would be more like getting a cat.” ― Anne Lamott

66. “My guitar and singing was my way of crying.” ― Gloria Estefan

67. “My tolerance for tears is very little when you’re beautiful and crying over nothing.” ― Chrissy Teigen

68. “Oh any sentimental person can cry at night, but when you begin to cry in the morning – to lie awake and cry in the morning-.” ― Eleanor Hallowell Abbott

69. “How dry eyes can get when they are not allowed to cry!” ― Maria Franziska von Trapp

70. “I’m a crier. You won’t see me lashing out, but you will see me crying a lot.” ― Brad Goreski

Let the tears fall and have a good cry

Men and women both cry, although it seems to happen more with women.

In the United States, women cry an average of 3.5 times per month while men cry an average of 1.9 times a month.

There are actually three types of tears that people shed: basal, reflex, and emotional.

We talked about emotional tears, so let’s look at the other kinds!

Basal tears are a protein-rich antibacterial liquid that helps to keep the eyes moist when a person blinks.

Your tear ducts constantly secrete basal tears, and there are many drops on the market to help with “dry eyes” that simulate this type of tear.

Reflex tears are ones you might shed in response to say an onion.

If your eyes are tearing up in response to some kind of stimulant or irritant (like light, smoke, wind, etc., then these are reflex tears.

Research has found that crying can help relieve pain and enhance your mood.

It also releases toxins and reduces stress.

Crying has a cathartic effect, and it is why now and then you just need a good cry!

Put on that sad movie that will tug at your heartstrings and make you weep.

Play that sad song that moves you to tears.

It is good for you.

What’s your biggest takeaway from these crying quotes and sayings?

What was the last movie, book, or song that brought you to tears?

Let us know in the comment section below.