一言既出，驷马难追
yī​yán​jì​chū​sì​mǎ​nán​zhuī

a promise must be kept

  • created sense approved 一言既出，驷马难追/一言既出，駟馬難追 · yī​yán​jì​chū​sì​mǎ​nán​zhuī · a word spoken cannot be withdrawn — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    一言既出，驷马难追 / 一言既出，駟馬難追

    yī​yán​jì​chū​sì​mǎ​nán​zhuī

    a word spoken cannot be withdrawn

    once something is said, it cannot be taken back even by a team of four horses; a promise must be kept

    一言 (literal) → 一言 · yī​yán · one word 既 (literal) → 既 · jì · already 出 (literal) → 出 · chū · to go out ， (non_chinese) 驷马难追 (literal) → 驷马难追/駟馬難追 · sì​mǎ​nán​zhuī · what is said cannot be unsaid

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense

  • created sense approved 一言既出，驷马难追/一言既出，駟馬難追 · yī​yán​jì​chū​sì​mǎ​nán​zhuī · a promise must be kept — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    一言既出，驷马难追 / 一言既出，駟馬難追

    yī​yán​jì​chū​sì​mǎ​nán​zhuī

    a promise must be kept

    Literally "once a word is spoken, even a team of four horses cannot chase it back"; used to emphasize that a person must stand by their word and keep their promises.

    yì​yán​jì​chū​sì​mǎ​nán​zhuī

    一言 (literal) → 一言 · yī​yán · one word 既 (literal) → 既 · jì · already 出 (literal) → 出 · chū · to go out ， (non_chinese) 驷马难追 (literal) → 驷马难追/駟馬難追 · sì​mǎ​nán​zhuī · what is said cannot be unsaid

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense