食 言 而 肥

shí yán ér féidictionary entry

lit. to grow fat eating one's words (idiom) / fig. not to live up to one's promises

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-f234b30197d920f5. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

食言而肥 食言而肥 [shi2 yan2 er2 fei2] /lit. to grow fat eating one's words (idiom)/fig. not to live up to one's promises/

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.

食
shí
to eat / food / animal feed / eclipse
sì
to feed (a person or animal)
言
yán
words / speech / to say / to talk
而
ér
and / as well as / and so / but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates causal relation) / (indicates change of state) / (indicates contrast)
肥
féi
fat / fertile / loose-fitting or large / to fertilize / to become rich by illegal means / fertilizer / manure

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.