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顧左右而言他

简顾左右而言他 · 繁顧左右而言他

Mandarin · pinyin gù zuǒ yòu ér yán tā

(idiom) to digress from the topic of discussion

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Characters in this entry

顧: Look up this written character
左: zuǒ · left; east; unorthodox, improper
右: yòu · right; west; right-wing
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
他: tā · other, another; he, she, it
顾: gù · look back; look at; look after

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–4–2–2–1 · gu4 zuo3 you4 er2 yan2 ta1

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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.

顧左右而言他 · find source passages ↗ · 顾左右而言他 · 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 try to change the subject of a conversation; to evade the subject under discussion and talk about other affairs; to steer clear of the crucial point

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

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