seeing is believing; a picture is worth a thousand words
Proverb emphasizing that firsthand experience is more reliable than hearsay. Often used when encouraging someone to see something for themselves.
They say seeing is believing, so let's actually go to the site.
It's better to see the real thing than a photo. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Standard kanji spelling using 如かず.
Common variant with しかず written in kana.
From classical Chinese proverb 百聞不如一見 (bǎi wén bùrú yī jiàn), literally 'hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once'. The Japanese reading uses the classical negative ず (zu) form of 如く (shiku).