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Chinese/Dictionary entry

少说为佳

shǎo shuō wéi jiādictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
Few words are best. / Brevity is the soul of wit.
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-5a38c14692b63751. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

少說為佳 少说为佳 [shao3 shuo1 wei2 jia1] /Few words are best./Brevity is the soul of wit./

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: 少說為佳

  • 少
    shǎo

    few / less / to lack / to be missing / to stop (doing sth) / seldom

    shào

    young

  • 说
    shuì

    to persuade

    shuō

    to speak / to talk / to say / to explain / to comment / to scold / to tell off / (bound form) theory / doctrine

  • 为
    wéi

    as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice)

    wèi

    because of / for / to

  • 佳
    jiā

    beautiful / fine / good

    Jiā

    surname Jia

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.