一言既出，駟馬難追
Chinese
| one sentence; something to say; brief remark | already; since; both... (and...) | to go out; to come out; to occur to go out; to come out; to occur; to produce; to go beyond; to rise; to put forth; to happen; (a measure word for dramas, plays, or operas) |
words cannot be taken back once they are spoken | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (一言既出，駟馬難追) | 一言 | 既 | 出 | ， | 駟馬難追 | |
| simp. (一言既出，驷马难追) | 一言 | 既 | 出 | ， | 驷马难追 | |
| Literally: “once said, a team of horses cannot unsay it”. | ||||||
Etymology
Based on a passage in Analects:
- 子貢曰：「惜乎！夫子之說君子也。駟不及舌。……」 [MSC, trad.]
- From: 《論語·顏淵》Analects, "Yan Yuan"
- Zǐgòng yuē: “Xī hū! Fūzǐ zhī shuō jūnzǐ yě. Sì bùjí shé.......” [Pinyin]
- Zigong said: "How regrettable are your words about the superior person. A four-horse-team cannot overtake the tongue. [...]"
子贡曰：“惜乎！夫子之说君子也。驷不及舌。……” [MSC, simp.]
Pronunciation
Descendants
- Sino-Xenic (一言既出，駟馬難追):
- → Vietnamese: nhất ngôn ký xuất, tứ mã nan truy (一言既出，駟馬難追)
- → Japanese: 一言既に出ずれば駟馬も追い難し (ichigon sude ni izureba shiba mo oi gata shi) (calque)
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