DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

病從口入

简病从口入 · 繁病從口入

Mandarin · pinyin bìng cóng kǒu rù

Illness enters by the mouth (idiom). Mind what you eat!
fig. A loose tongue may cause a lot of trouble.

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

病: bìng · illness, sickness, disease
從: cóng · from, by, since, whence, through
口: kǒu · mouth; open end; entrance, gate
入: rù · enter, come in(to), join
从: cóng · from, by, since, whence, through

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–2–3–4 · bing4 cong2 kou3 ru4

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.

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.

病從口入 · find source passages ↗ · 病从口入 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

beng6 cung4 hau2 jap6

Cantonese word readings for 病從口入. 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) illness enters from the mouth

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

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