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如是说 (rú shì shuì) — (idiom) thus said; so stated; as the saying goes

Definition

Literary/archaic idiom meaning 'thus said' — a formal quotation marker, used in book titles, classical citations, or translations of classic works (e.g. Nietzsche's 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'). Rare in everyday speech.

idiom
thus saidso statedas the saying goes

Examples

  • 《如是说》。
    Ní cǎi de 《chá lā tú sī tè lā rú shì shuì》 shì yí bù zhé xué míng zhù.
    Nietzsche's 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' is a famous philosophical work.
  • 如是说：“，。”
    Gǔ rén rú shì shuì: "jūn zǐ ài cái, qǔ zhī yǒu dào."
    The ancients said: 'A gentleman loves wealth but obtains it in the right way.'
  • 《如是说》。
    Zhè běn shū de biāo tí jiù shì 《kǒng zǐ rú shì shuì》.
    The title of this book is 'Confucius Said Thus'.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ如rú
Same sound today

如 is built from 口 (mouth) for its meaning and 女 (woman) for its sound.

Open 如 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 是 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 說; 说 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì說shuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 說 pairs 言 (meaning) with 兌 (sound); the simplified 说 is not the form described here.

Open 说 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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