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言不及義

简言不及义 · 繁言不及義

Mandarin · pinyin yán bù jí yì

to talk nonsense (idiom)
frivolous talk

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Characters in this entry

言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
及: jí · extend; reach; come up to; and
義: Look up this written character
义: yì · right conduct, righteousness

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–2–4 · yan2 bu4 ji2 yi4

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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.

言不及義 · find source passages ↗ · 言不及义 · 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 never talk about anything serious; to talk frivolously

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

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