諺語 · a single proverb
口若懸河
Simplified: 口若悬河
What does 口若懸河 (kǒu ruò xuán hé) mean?
口若懸河 (kǒu ruò xuán hé) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "a mouth like a suspended river." In use it means: Eloquence that flows without pause, like a river pouring from a cliff. Describes someone who speaks with unstoppable fluency, for better or worse. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dragon.
Literally: "a mouth like a suspended river."
The reading
The waterfall does not pause for questions. Neither does the person who talks like one. The sound is impressive. Whether the listener is wetter or wiser at the end depends on whether the river carried anything besides water. Fluency without content is just noise at high volume.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Book of Jin 晉書, biography of Guo Xiang 郭象傳
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Friendship, Trust & Speech, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dragon, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 口若懸河 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 口若懸河 (kǒu ruò xuán hé) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Book of Jin 晉書, biography of Guo Xiang 郭象傳. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 口若懸河?
In Mandarin it is kǒu ruò xuán hé. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 口若懸河 aloud in Mandarin.