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言過其實

简言过其实 · 繁言過其實

Mandarin · pinyin yán guò qí shí

(idiom) to exaggerate; to overstate the facts

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Characters in this entry

言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
過: guò · pass, pass through, go across
其: qí · his, her, its, their; that
實: shí · real, true, solid, honest
过: guò · pass, pass through, go across
实: shí · real, true; honest, sincere

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–2–2 · yan2 guo4 qi2 shi2

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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.

言過其實 · find source passages ↗ · 言过其实 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jin4 gwo3 kei4 sat6

Cantonese word readings for 言過其實. 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) to overstate the facts; to stretch the truth; to exaggerate

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

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