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察言观色

chá yán guān sèdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to weigh up sb's words and observe their facial expression (idiom) / to discern what sb thinks from his body language
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-235b7745349663db. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

察言觀色 察言观色 [cha2 yan2 guan1 se4] /to weigh up sb's words and observe their facial expression (idiom)/to discern what sb thinks from his body language/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 察言觀色

  • 察
    chá

    to examine / to inquire / to observe / to inspect / to look into / obvious / clearly evident

    Chá

    short name for Chahar Province 察哈爾|察哈尔[Chá hā ěr]

  • 言
    yán

    words / speech / to say / to talk

  • 观
    guān

    to look at / to watch / to observe / to behold / to advise / concept / point of view / outlook

    guàn

    Taoist monastery / palace gate watchtower / platform

    Guàn

    surname Guan

  • 色
    sè

    color / CL:種|种[zhǒng] / look / appearance / sex

    shǎi

    (coll.) color / used in 色子[shǎi zi]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.