諺語 · a single proverb
言多必失
What does 言多必失 (yán duō bì shī) mean?
言多必失 (yán duō bì shī) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "many words must lose something." In use it means: Talk enough and you will inevitably slip; the more you say, the more surface you leave for a mistake to land on. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Metal note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Monkey.
Literally: "many words must lose something."
The reading
You have never regretted the thing you didn't say. Watch yourself in the moment you're talking to fill the silence rather than to mean something. That's the exact moment the loose word gets out and takes weeks to walk back.
The story
The saying is attested in the Zhu Zi Jia Xun, the Zhu family maxims, and in earlier usage: many words are bound to lose something. Its plain arithmetic is that the more you say, the more surface you leave for a mistake to land on, and it is used to counsel a person to speak less and slip less.
Catch yourself in the moment you are talking to fill the silence rather than to mean something, because that is when the loose word gets out. Say less, and notice that you have never once regretted the thing you did not say.
What kind of proverb it is
Source attested in Zhu Zi Jia Xun 朱子家訓 and earlier; Wiktionary / MOE
Sits beside
病從口入，禍從口出
bìng cóng kǒu rù, huò cóng kǒu chū
Just as sickness comes from what you take in, ruin comes from what you let out.
三思而後行
sān sī ér hòu xíng
Deliberate before you act: turn a decision over more than once before letting it out of your hands.
家醜不可外揚
jiā chǒu bù kě wài yáng
Keep the household's internal troubles within the household.
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 Monkey, Year of the Snake, and Year of the Rat.
Questions
Is 言多必失 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 言多必失 (yán duō bì shī) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from attested in Zhu Zi Jia Xun 朱子家訓 and earlier; Wiktionary / MOE. 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 言多必失?
In Mandarin it is yán duō bì shī. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 言多必失 aloud in Mandarin.