有言在先 (yǒu yán zài xiān) — to have forewarned or made clear in advance; a prior statement or agreement

Definition

A fixed phrase meaning 'I said so beforehand' — used to remind someone that you warned them earlier, often with a tone of 'don't blame me'. The statement comes before the action, not after.

idiom
to have forewarned or made clear in advancea prior statement or agreement

Examples

  • ，有言在先。
    Bié guài wǒ méi tí xǐng nǐ, wǒ kě shì yǒu yán zài xiān le.
    Don't blame me for not warning you — I told you so beforehand.
  • 有言在先，，。
    Zán men yǒu yán zài xiān, zhè bǐ qián jiè gěi nǐ, sān gè yuè nèi bì xū hái.
    Let's make it clear in advance: this money I'm lending you must be returned within three months.
  • 有言在先，。
    Dāng shí yǒu yán zài xiān shuō guò bù néng chí dào, nǐ xiàn zài hái shì wǎn le.
    I said clearly in advance that you couldn't be late, yet here you are, late.

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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 →

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

The early form of 在 used 才 for its sound; a second sound part 士 was added later, and that 士 became the 土 seen in 在.

Open 在 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

先 combines 止 (foot) and 儿 (person) to show someone moving forward.

Open 先 →

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