忠言逆耳

忠言逆耳

Chinese

		sincere advice; earnest advice	to grate on the ear; to be unpleasant to the ear
simp. and trad. (忠言逆耳)		忠言	逆耳

Etymology

Part of a longer phrase:

良藥苦口利於病，忠言逆耳利於行。 [MSC, trad.]
良药苦口利于病，忠言逆耳利于行。 [MSC, simp.]

Liángyào kǔkǒu lìyú bìng, zhōngyán nì'ěr lìyú xíng. [Pinyin]

A bitter medicine cures the disease. Honest advice may be unpleasant to hear, but it is beneficial.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhōngyánnì'ěr

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄨㄥ ㄧㄢˊ ㄋㄧˋ ㄦˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zung¹ jin⁴ jik⁴ ji⁵

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: zhōngyánnì'ěr
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄨㄥ ㄧㄢˊ ㄋㄧˋ ㄦˇ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jongyanniheel
    • IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ i̯ɛn³⁵ ni⁵¹ ˀɤɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: zung¹ jin⁴ jik⁴ ji⁵
    • Yale: jūng yìhn yìhk yíh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzung¹ jin⁴ jik⁴ ji⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: zung¹ yin⁴ yig⁴ yi⁵
    • IPA ^(key): /t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ jiːn²¹ jɪk̚²¹ jiː¹³/

Idiom

忠言逆耳

1. sincere advice may be unpleasant to the ear (but it is beneficial)

See also

• 良藥苦口／良药苦口