肺腑之言 (fèi fǔ zhī yán) — heartfelt words; words from the bottom of one's heart

Definition

A set phrase (成语) for deeply sincere, heartfelt words — much stronger than a casual 'honestly' or 'from the heart'; it implies words that come from one's innermost being.

noun
heartfelt wordswords from the bottom of one's heart

Examples

  • 肺腑之言。
    Tā jīn tiān shuō de měi yí jù fèi fǔ zhī yán dōu ràng wǒ fēi cháng gǎn dòng.
    Every word he said today from the bottom of his heart moved me deeply.
  • 肺腑之言。
    Zhè xiē fèi fǔ zhī yán biǎo dá le tā duì jiā rén de zhēn shí gǎn qíng.
    These heartfelt words expressed his true feelings for his family.
  • 肺腑之言。
    Lǎo shī de yì fān fèi fǔ zhī yán ràng xué shēng men míng bai le xué xí de yì yì.
    The teacher's heartfelt words made the students understand the meaning of study.

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat; flesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
巿
巿fú肺fèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

肺 combines ⺼, a form of 肉 meaning flesh, with 巿 for the sound.

Open 肺 →

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròu
Sound part声符shēngfú
府
府fǔ腑⁰fǔ
Same sound today

腑 is built from ⺼ (肉, flesh) and 府, which gives the sound fǔ.

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

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

Open 之 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.