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說三道四

简说三道四 · 繁說三道四

Mandarin · pinyin shuō sān dào sì

to make thoughtless remarks (idiom)
to criticize
gossip

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Characters in this entry

說: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid
三: sān · three
道: dào · path, road, street; method, way
四: sì · four
说: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–4 · shuo1 san1 dao4 si4

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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.

說三道四 · find source passages ↗ · 说三道四 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

syut3 saam1 dou6 sei3

Cantonese word readings for 說三道四. 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

(derogatory) to gossip; to make irresponsible remarks
(derogatory) to criticize, to carp

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

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