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Chinese/Dictionary entry

言者无意，听者有心

yán zhě wú yì , tīng zhě yǒu xīndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to take a casual remark to heart (idiom)
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-255820fe85f98784. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

言者無意，聽者有心 言者无意，听者有心 [yan2 zhe3 wu2 yi4 , ting1 zhe3 you3 xin1] /to take a casual remark to heart (idiom)/

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: 言者無意，聽者有心

  • 言
    yán

    words / speech / to say / to talk

  • 者
    zhě

    (after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ... / (after a noun) person involved in ... / -er / -ist / (used after a number or 後|后[hòu] or 前[qián] to refer to sth mentioned previously) / (used after a term, to mark a pause before defining the term) / (old) (used at the end of a command) / (old) this

  • 无
    mó

    used in 南無|南无[nā mó]

    wú

    not to have / no / none / not / to lack / un- / -less

  • 意
    yì

    (bound form) idea / thought / meaning / sense / (bound form) intention / feeling / inclination / state of mind / (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yì dà lì])

  • 听
    yǐn

    smile (archaic)

    tīng

    to listen to / to hear / to heed / to obey / a can (loanword from English "tin") / classifier for canned beverages / to let be / to allow (Taiwan pr. [tìng]) / (literary) to administer / to deal with (Taiwan pr. [tìng])

  • 者
    zhě

    (after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ... / (after a noun) person involved in ... / -er / -ist / (used after a number or 後|后[hòu] or 前[qián] to refer to sth mentioned previously) / (used after a term, to mark a pause before defining the term) / (old) (used at the end of a command) / (old) this

  • 有
    yǒu

    to have / there is / (bound form) having / with / -ful / -ed / -al (as in 有意[yǒu yì] intentional)

  • 心
    xīn

    heart / mind / intention / center / core / CL:顆|颗[kē],個|个[gè]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.