有口难言 / 有口難言

yǒu​kǒu​nán​yán

unable to speak one's mind

to have something on one's mind but find it difficult or awkward to speak out, whether due to fear, embarrassment, or being unable to vindicate oneself

有 (literal) → 有 · yǒu · to have 口 (literal) → 口 · kǒu · mouth 难言 (literal) → 难言/難言 · nán​yán · hard to say

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

created sense May 20, 2026, 07:57 PM