DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

少說為佳

简少说为佳 · 繁少說為佳

Mandarin · pinyin shǎo shuō wéi jiā

Few words are best.
Brevity is the soul of wit.

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Characters in this entry

少: shǎo · few, less, inadequate
說: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid
為: Look up this written character
佳: jiā · good, auspicious; beautiful; delightful
说: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1–2–1 · shao3 shuo1 wei2 jia1

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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.

少說為佳 · find source passages ↗ · 少说为佳 · find source passages ↗

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