Qui amicum fallit, amicitiam laedit.

the friend

Breakdown of Qui amicum fallit, amicitiam laedit.

• amicitia: the friendship
• laedere: to harm
• qui: whoever

Questions & Answers about Qui amicum fallit, amicitiam laedit.

What does qui mean here?

Here qui means the one who, he who, or more generally whoever.

So the sentence is not just about one specific man. It states a general truth:

• Qui amicum fallit = the person who deceives a friend
• amicitiam laedit = harms friendship

In grammatical terms, qui is a relative pronoun, but here it is being used on its own without an expressed noun before it.

Why is it qui, not quem?

Because qui is the subject of the verbs fallit and laedit.

• qui = the one who does the action
• amicum = the friend who is deceived
• amicitiam = friendship, which is harmed

If Latin used quem, that would mean whom, which would make it an object, not the subject.

So:

• qui fallit = who deceives
• not quem fallit = whom he deceives

Is there an implied word before qui?

Yes. Latin often leaves it unstated.

You can think of an implied idea like:

• =