人言可畏
rén yán kě wèi
gossip is a fearful thing
Character by character
人rén
people’s
people’s
言yán
words
words
可kě
can be
can be
畏wèi
feared
feared
Example
小镇上人言可畏，她离婚以后干脆搬到了外地。
In a small town gossip is a fearful thing, so after her divorce she simply moved away.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Goes back to the Book of Songs (《诗经·郑风·将仲子》: 人之多言，亦可畏也). In 1935 鲁迅 wrote the essay 《论“人言可畏”》 after the film star 阮玲玉 took her own life amid newspaper gossip. Said of the pressure of rumour and public talk, often to explain why someone hides or gives way.
Learn this in Lesson 160 · HSK 7–9: 艾滋病：检测与偏见 (HIV: testing and prejudice)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →