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逆耳之言

Mandarin · pinyin nì ěr zhī yán

speech that grates on the ear (idiom); bitter truths
home truths (that one does not want to hear)

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Characters in this entry

逆: nì · disobey, rebel; rebel, traitor
耳: ěr · ear; merely, only; handle; Kangxi radical 128
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–1–2 · ni4 er3 zhi1 yan2

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jik6 ji5 zi1 jin4

Cantonese word readings for 逆耳之言. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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