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花言巧語

简花言巧语 · 繁花言巧語

Mandarin · pinyin huā yán qiǎo yǔ

graceful words, flowery speech (idiom); elegant but insincere words
cheating wheedling
dishonest rhetoric

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Characters in this entry

花: huā · flower; blossoms
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
巧: qiǎo · skillful, ingenious, clever
語: Look up this written character
语: yǔ · language, words; saying, expression

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–3 · hua1 yan2 qiao3 yu3

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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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.

花言巧語 · find source passages ↗ · 花言巧语 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

faa1 jin4 haau2 jyu5

Cantonese word readings for 花言巧語. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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) sweet but insincere (usually flattering) speech; slick talk; dishonest rhetoric

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

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