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扬言 (yáng yán) — to publicly declare (usually a threat or malicious intent)

Definition

扬言 means to publicly declare something one intends to do, usually a threat, revenge, or exposure. It carries a negative, boastful tone — the speaker is announcing bad intentions out loud.

verb
to publicly declare (usually a threat or malicious intent)

Examples

  • 扬言。
    Tā yáng yán yào bào fu gōng sī.
    He publicly threatened to take revenge on the company.
  • 扬言。
    Nà ge zuì fàn yáng yán yào shāng hài zhèng rén.
    That criminal threatened to harm the witness.
  • 扬言。
    Tā yáng yán yào jiē lù suǒ yǒu mì mì.
    She declared that she would expose all the secrets.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

扬yángspread; raise
言yánwords; say

扬 is to spread or raise, and 言 is words, together giving a public statement or threat.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 揚; 扬 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng揚
Same sound today

The traditional form 揚 uses 手 to show a hand-related action and 昜 to give the sound; the simplified 扬 is a later abbreviation.

Open 扬 →

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 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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