The three wise monkeys (Japanese: , san'en or sanzaru, or , sanbiki no saru, literally "three monkeys"), sometimes called the three mystic apes,"Three Mystic Apes" term (1894) predates "Three Wise Monkeys" (1900) in Google Books are a pictorial maxim. Together they embody the proverbial principle to "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil".