言不及義
Chinese
to speak; to say; talk to speak; to say; talk; word | not; no | to reach; and | justice; righteousness; meaning | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (言不及義) | 言 | 不 | 及 | 義 | |
simp. (言不及义) | 言 | 不 | 及 | 义 |
Etymology
From the Analects:
- 子曰:「群居終日,言不及義,好行小慧,難矣哉!」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Zǐ yuē: “Qúnjū zhōngrì, yánbùjíyì, hào xíng xiǎohuì, nán yǐ zāi!” [Pinyin]
- The Master said, "When a number of people are together, for a whole day, without their conversation turning on righteousness, and when they are fond of carrying out the suggestions of a small shrewdness; theirs is indeed a hard case."
子曰:“群居终日,言不及义,好行小慧,难矣哉!” [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
Idiom
言不及義
- to never talk about anything serious; to talk frivolously