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不言而喻 (bù yán ér yù) — it goes without saying; self-evident

Definition

A written chengyu meaning 'self-evident, goes without saying' — stronger and more literary than 显而易见. Pairs with a noun or clause to assert that something needs no explanation.

phrase
it goes without sayingself-evident

Examples

  • 不言而喻，。
    bù yán ér yù, Liáng hǎo de gōu tōng duì tuán duì hé zuò zhì guān zhòng yào.
    It goes without saying that good communication is crucial for teamwork.
  • 不言而喻，。
    Zhè wèi jiào shòu de xué shù shuǐ píng bù yán ér yù, tā de lùn wén bèi guǎng fàn yǐn yòng.
    The professor's academic level is self-evident; his papers are widely cited.
  • ，不言而喻。
    Zuò wéi yì míng jiào shī, nǐ duì xué shēng de yǐng xiǎng bù yán ér yù.
    As a teacher, your impact on students is self-evident.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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 →

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

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

Open 而 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
俞
俞yú喻⁰yù
Same sound today

喻 pairs 口 (mouth) with 俞, which gives its sound.

Open 喻 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Communication & SpeechIdioms & Set Phrases

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