自圓其說

简 自圆其说 · 繁 自圓其說
Mandarin · pinyin zì yuán qí shuō

Meanings

  1. (idiom) to make a story or theory consistent; to give a plausible explanation; to plug the holes in one's story
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Characters in this entry

自
zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
圓
yuán · circle; round, circular; complete
其
qí · his, her, its, their; that
說
shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid
圆
yuán · circle; round, circular; complete
说
shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–2–1 · zi4 yuan2 qi2 shuo1

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi6 jyun4 kei4 syut3

Cantonese word readings for 自圓其說. 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

  1. (idiomatic) to justify in order to make one's own statement consistent and flawless

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

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

自圓其說 · zi4 yuan2 qi2 shuo1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 91,822
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record自圓其說 自圆其说 [zi4 yuan2 qi2 shuo1] /(idiom) to make a story or theory consistent; to give a plausible explanation; to plug the holes in one's story/