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言為心聲

简言为心声 · 繁言為心聲

Mandarin · pinyin yán wéi xīn shēng

one's words reflect one's thinking (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
為: Look up this written character
心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
聲: shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
声: shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–1 · yan2 wei2 xin1 sheng1

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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.

言為心聲 · find source passages ↗ · 言为心声 · 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) words are the voice of the mind; what the heart thinks the tongue speaks

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

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