DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

言下之意

Mandarin · pinyin yán xià zhī yì

implication

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
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.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–4–1–4 · yan2 xia4 zhi1 yi4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character 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.

言下之意 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jin4 haa6 zi1 ji3

Cantonese word readings for 言下之意. 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) synonym of 言外之意 (yánwàizhīyì, “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