LookupMandarin · 繁體 · English

ChineseCharactersMeanings inMandarin–English · CC-CEDICTSources ↗

DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

一言不發

简一言不发 · 繁一言不發

Mandarin · pinyin yī yán bù fā

to not say a word (idiom)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
發: fā · issue, dispatch, send out, emit
发: fā · issue, dispatch, send out; hair

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–2–4–1 · yi1 yan2 bu4 fa1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 jin4 bat1 faat3

Cantonese word readings for 一言不發. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to not say a word; to be silent

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack