言而有信 (yán ér yǒu xìn) — to be as good as one's word; to keep one's promise

Definition

A formal idiom meaning 'to be as good as one's word' — emphasizes keeping promises and acting with integrity. Used in writing or serious speech, stronger and more literary than the everyday 说话算数.

idiom
to be as good as one's wordto keep one's promise

Examples

  • 言而有信，。
    Tā xiàng lái yán ér yǒu xìn, suǒ yǐ dà jiā dōu hěn xìn rèn tā.
    He always keeps his word, so everyone trusts him.
  • 言而有信，。
    Zuò rén yào yán ér yǒu xìn, bù néng suí biàn shuō huǎng.
    A person should be true to their word — you can't just tell lies.
  • 言而有信，。
    Rú guǒ nǐ bù néng yán ér yǒu xìn, jiù bié qīng yì dā ying bié rén.
    If you can't keep your promise, don't agree to things lightly.

Origin

Characters in this word

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
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 →

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
言言yánwords
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén信xìn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

信 pairs 人 as the sound part with 言 (words) as the meaning part.

Open 信 →

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