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察言觀色

简察言观色 · 繁察言觀色

Mandarin · pinyin chá yán guān sè

to weigh up sb's words and observe their facial expression (idiom)
to discern what sb thinks from his body language

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Characters in this entry

察: chá · examine, investigate; notice
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
觀: Look up this written character
色: sè · color, tint, hue, shade; form, body; beauty, desire for beauty; Kangxi radical 139
观: guān · see, observe, view; appearance

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–4 · cha2 yan2 guan1 se4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

察言觀色 · find source passages ↗ · 察言观色 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to read a person (to interpret or infer a meaning or significance based on facial expression, tone of voice etc)

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

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