道听途说
dào tīng tú shuō
hearsay
Character by character
道dào
on the road
on the road
听tīng
hear
hear
途tú
on the way
on the way
说shuō
tell
tell
Example
这些都是道听途说，不能相信。
This is all hearsay; you can't believe it.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
From the Analects (阳货): passing on what you heard on the road is abandoning virtue.
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