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言外之意

Mandarin · pinyin yán wài zhī yì

(idiom) unspoken implication; the actual meaning of what was said

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Characters in this entry

言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
外: wài · out, outside, external; foreign
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
意: yì · thought, idea, opinion; think

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–1–4 · yan2 wai4 zhi1 yi4

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jin4 ngoi6 zi1 ji3

Cantonese word readings for 言外之意. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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

jin4 ngoi6 zi1 ji3

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) unsaid meaning of one's words; unspoken implication

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

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