食言
shí yán
Pinyin

Definition

食言
 - 
shí yán
  1. lit. to eat one's words
  2. to break a promise
  3. to go back on one's word
  4. to renege
  5. unsworn testimony

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

箴言
zhēn yán
  1. 1 admonition
  2. 2 exhortation
  3. 3 dictum
  4. 4 the biblical Book of Proverbs
美食
měi shí
  1. 1 culinary delicacy
  2. 2 fine food
  3. 3 gourmet food
言
yán
  1. 1 words
  2. 2 speech
  3. 3 to say
  4. 4 to talk
语言
yǔ yán
  1. 1 language
  2. 2 CL:門|门[mén],種|种[zhǒng]
谎言
huǎng yán
  1. 1 lie
零食
líng shí
  1. 1 between-meal nibbles
  2. 2 snacks
食
shí
  1. 1 to eat
  2. 2 food
  3. 3 animal feed
  4. 4 eclipse
食品
shí pǐn
  1. 1 foodstuff
  2. 2 food
  3. 3 provisions
  4. 4 CL:種|种[zhǒng]
食物
shí wù
  1. 1 food
  2. 2 CL:種|种[zhǒng]
饮食
yǐn shí
  1. 1 food and drink
  2. 2 diet
一言不发
yī yán bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
一言九鼎
yī yán jiǔ dǐng
  1. 1 one word worth nine sacred tripods (idiom); words of enormous weight
不言而喻
bù yán ér yù
  1. 1 it goes without saying
  2. 2 it is self-evident
主食
zhǔ shí
  1. 1 main food
  2. 2 staple (rice and noodles)
代言
dài yán
  1. 1 to be a spokesperson
  2. 2 to be an ambassador (for a brand)
  3. 3 to endorse
代言人
dài yán rén
  1. 1 spokesperson
伙食
huǒ shí
  1. 1 food
  2. 2 meals
传言
chuán yán
  1. 1 rumor
  2. 2 hearsay
千言万语
qiān yán wàn yǔ
  1. 1 thousands of words (idiom); having a lot of things to say
  2. 2 talking nonstop
厌食
yàn shí
  1. 1 anorexia

Idioms (20)

一言一动
yī yán yī dòng
  1. 1 (one's) every word and deed (idiom)
一言一行
yī yán yī xíng
  1. 1 every word and action (idiom)
一言不发
yī yán bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
一言九鼎
yī yán jiǔ dǐng
  1. 1 one word worth nine sacred tripods (idiom); words of enormous weight
一言以蔽之
yī yán yǐ bì zhī
  1. 1 one word says it all (idiom, from Analects); to cut a long story short
  2. 2 in a nutshell
一言千金
yī yán qiān jīn
  1. 1 one word worth a thousand in gold (idiom); valuable advice
  2. 2 words of enormous weight
一言既出，驷马难追
yī yán jì chū , sì mǎ nán zhuī
  1. 1 lit. once said, a team of horses cannot unsay it (idiom); a promise must be kept
一言为定
yī yán wéi dìng
  1. 1 (idiom) it's a deal
  2. 2 that's settled then
一言为重
yī yán wéi zhòng
  1. 1 each word carries weight
  2. 2 a promise must be kept (idiom)
一言难尽
yī yán nán jìn
  1. 1 hard to explain in a few words (idiom); complicated and not easy to express succinctly
三旬九食
sān xún jiǔ shí
  1. 1 lit. to have only nine meals in thirty days (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. (of a family) on the brink of starvation
  3. 3 in dire straits
三言两句
sān yán liǎng jù
  1. 1 in a few words (idiom); expressed succinctly
三言两语
sān yán liǎng yǔ
  1. 1 in a few words (idiom); expressed succinctly
不以人废言
bù yǐ rén fèi yán
  1. 1 not to reject a word because of the speaker (idiom, from Analects); to judge on the merits of the case rather than preference between advisers
不可胜言
bù kě shèng yán
  1. 1 inexpressible (idiom)
  2. 2 beyond description
不可言喻
bù kě yán yù
  1. 1 inexpressible (idiom)
不恤人言
bù xù rén yán
  1. 1 not to worry about the gossip (idiom); to do the right thing regardless of what others say
不听老人言，吃亏在眼前
bù tīng lǎo rén yán , chī kuī zài yǎn qián
  1. 1 (idiom) ignore your elders at your peril
不言不语
bù yán bù yǔ
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
  2. 2 to keep silent
不言自明
bù yán zì míng
  1. 1 self-evident; needing no explanation (idiom)

Sample Sentences