金玉良言 (jīn yù liáng yán) — invaluable advice; golden words of wisdom; a wise and heartfelt counsel

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'golden words of advice' — wise counsel so valuable it's compared to gold and jade. Used to praise someone's heartfelt, time-tested advice.

idiom
invaluable advicegolden words of wisdoma wise and heartfelt counsel

Examples

  • 金玉良言，。
    Lǎo shī de nà fān jīn yù liáng yán, wǒ yì zhí jì zài xīn lǐ.
    I've kept that invaluable advice from my teacher in my heart.
  • 金玉良言，。
    Fù qīn lín xíng qián shuō de měi yí jù dōu shì jīn yù liáng yán, ràng wǒ shǎo zǒu le hěn duō wān lù.
    Every word my father said before I left was golden advice that saved me many detours.
  • 金玉良言，。
    Péng you zài nǐ kùn nan shí gěi nǐ de jīn yù liáng yán, bǐ jīn qián gèng zhēn guì.
    The invaluable advice a friend gives you in times of trouble is more precious than money.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Open 金 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

玉 was drawn as a ritual jade piece, or as jade pieces strung together, and was made distinct from 王 by adding a dot.

Open 玉 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

良 possibly depicts corridors and a room.

Open 良 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

Open 言 →

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