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耳闻不如目见

ěr wén bù rú mù jiàndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
seeing sth for oneself is better than hearing about it from others
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-dc50c479482855b7. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

耳聞不如目見 耳闻不如目见 [er3 wen2 bu4 ru2 mu4 jian4] /seeing sth for oneself is better than hearing about it from others/

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: 耳聞不如目見

  • 耳
    ěr

    ear / handle (archaeology) / and that is all (Classical Chinese)

  • 闻
    wén

    to hear / news / well-known / famous / reputation / fame / to smell / to sniff at

    Wén

    surname Wen

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 如
    rú

    as / as if / such as

  • 目
    mù

    eye / (literary) to look / to regard / eye (of a net) / mesh / mesh size / grit size (abbr. for 目數|目数[mù shù]) / item / section / list / catalogue / (taxonomy) order / name / title

  • 见
    jiàn

    to see / to meet / to appear (to be sth) / to interview / opinion / view

    xiàn

    to appear / also written 現|现[xiàn]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.