"防民之口,甚於防川" meaning in Chinese

See 防民之口,甚於防川 in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Phrase

IPA: /fɑŋ³⁵ min³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂən⁵¹ y³⁵ fɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵⁵/ [Mandarin, Standard-Chinese, Sinological-IPA], /fɔːŋ²¹ mɐn²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ hɐu̯³⁵ sɐm²² jyː⁵⁵ fɔːŋ²¹ t͡sʰyːn⁵⁵/ [Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological-IPA] Forms: 防民之口,甚于防川 [Simplified-Chinese]
Etymology: From Guoyu Head templates: {{head|zh|idiom}} 防民之口,甚於防川
  1. It is more sinister and ominous to stop civilians from speaking than to block the river flows. Wikipedia link: Guoyu (book) Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: 防人之口,甚於防川, 防人之口,甚于防川, 防民之口,甚於防水, 防民之口,甚于防水
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      "english": "Silencing people is more sinister than blocking rivers. If the river is blocked, it will eventually burst, and many people will be injured, the same goes for the suppressed people.",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Traditional Chinese poetry"
      ],
      "ref": " Guoyu, circa 4ᵗʰ century BCE",
      "roman": "Fángmínzhīkǒu, shènyúfángchuān. Chuān yōng ér kuì, shāng rén bì duō, mín yì rú zhī.",
      "tags": [
        "Pinyin",
        "Traditional-Chinese"
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      "text": "防民之口,甚於防川。川壅而潰,傷人必多,民亦如之。",
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      "english": "Silencing people is more sinister than blocking rivers. If the river is blocked, it will eventually burst, and many people will be injured, the same goes for the suppressed people.",
      "raw_tags": [
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      "ref": " Guoyu, circa 4ᵗʰ century BCE",
      "roman": "Fángmínzhīkǒu, shènyúfángchuān. Chuān yōng ér kuì, shāng rén bì duō, mín yì rú zhī.",
      "tags": [
        "Pinyin",
        "Simplified-Chinese"
      ],
      "text": "防民之口,甚于防川。川壅而溃,伤人必多,民亦如之。",
      "type": "quote"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Guoyu",
  "forms": [
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      "form": "防民之口,甚于防川",
      "tags": [
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  "lang": "Chinese",
  "lang_code": "zh",
  "pos": "phrase",
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          "name": "Freedom of speech",
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      "glosses": [
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      "id": "en-防民之口,甚於防川-zh-phrase-JeG~DaR-",
      "links": [
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          "flow",
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          "word": "防人之口,甚於防川"
        },
        {
          "word": "防人之口,甚于防川"
        },
        {
          "word": "防民之口,甚於防水"
        },
        {
          "word": "防民之口,甚于防水"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Guoyu (book)"
      ]
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  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fángmínzhīkǒu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shènyúfángchuān"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄈㄤˊ ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄓ ㄎㄡˇ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄕㄣˋ ㄩˊ ㄈㄤˊ ㄔㄨㄢ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fong⁴ man⁴ zi¹ hau²"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sam⁶ jyu¹ fong⁴ cyun¹"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fángmínzhīkǒu"
    },
    {
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        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shènyúfángchuān"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄈㄤˊ ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄓ ㄎㄡˇ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄕㄣˋ ㄩˊ ㄈㄤˊ ㄔㄨㄢ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fángmínjhihkǒu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shènyúfángchuan"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fang²-min²-chih¹-kʻou³"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shên⁴-yü²-fang²-chʻuan¹"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fáng-mín-jr̄-kǒu-"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shèn-yú-fáng-chwān"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "farngminjykoou"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shennyufarngchuan"
    },
    {
      "roman": "fanminʹčžikou, šɛnʹjujfančuanʹ",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "фанминьчжикоу"
    },
    {
      "roman": "fanminʹčžikou, šɛnʹjujfančuanʹ",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "шэньюйфанчуань"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/fɑŋ³⁵ min³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂən⁵¹ y³⁵ fɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵⁵/",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fong⁴ man⁴ zi¹ hau²"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sam⁶ jyu¹ fong⁴ cyun¹"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fòhng màhn jī háu"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sahm yū fòhng chyūn"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Cantonese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fong⁴ man⁴ dzi¹ hau²"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Cantonese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sam⁶ jy¹ fong⁴ tsyn¹"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Guangdong-Romanization"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fong⁴ men⁴ ji¹ heo²"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Guangdong-Romanization"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sem⁶ yu¹ fong⁴ qun¹"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/fɔːŋ²¹ mɐn²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ hɐu̯³⁵ sɐm²² jyː⁵⁵ fɔːŋ²¹ t͡sʰyːn⁵⁵/",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
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        "Guangzhou",
        "Sinological-IPA"
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    }
  ],
  "word": "防民之口,甚於防川"
}
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      "english": "Silencing people is more sinister than blocking rivers. If the river is blocked, it will eventually burst, and many people will be injured, the same goes for the suppressed people.",
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      "ref": " Guoyu, circa 4ᵗʰ century BCE",
      "roman": "Fángmínzhīkǒu, shènyúfángchuān. Chuān yōng ér kuì, shāng rén bì duō, mín yì rú zhī.",
      "tags": [
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        "Traditional-Chinese"
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      "text": "防民之口,甚於防川。川壅而潰,傷人必多,民亦如之。",
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      "english": "Silencing people is more sinister than blocking rivers. If the river is blocked, it will eventually burst, and many people will be injured, the same goes for the suppressed people.",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Traditional Chinese poetry"
      ],
      "ref": " Guoyu, circa 4ᵗʰ century BCE",
      "roman": "Fángmínzhīkǒu, shènyúfángchuān. Chuān yōng ér kuì, shāng rén bì duō, mín yì rú zhī.",
      "tags": [
        "Pinyin",
        "Simplified-Chinese"
      ],
      "text": "防民之口,甚于防川。川壅而溃,伤人必多,民亦如之。",
      "type": "quote"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Guoyu",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "防民之口,甚于防川",
      "tags": [
        "Simplified-Chinese"
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "expansion": "防民之口,甚於防川",
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  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
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        "Chinese lemmas",
        "Chinese proverbs",
        "Chinese terms spelled with 之",
        "Chinese terms spelled with 口",
        "Chinese terms spelled with 川",
        "Chinese terms spelled with 於",
        "Chinese terms spelled with 民",
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          "civilian"
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          "speak",
          "speak"
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          "river",
          "river"
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        [
          "flow",
          "flow"
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      "wikipedia": [
        "Guoyu (book)"
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  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fángmínzhīkǒu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shènyúfángchuān"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄈㄤˊ ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄓ ㄎㄡˇ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄕㄣˋ ㄩˊ ㄈㄤˊ ㄔㄨㄢ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fong⁴ man⁴ zi¹ hau²"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sam⁶ jyu¹ fong⁴ cyun¹"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fángmínzhīkǒu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shènyúfángchuān"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄈㄤˊ ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄓ ㄎㄡˇ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄕㄣˋ ㄩˊ ㄈㄤˊ ㄔㄨㄢ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fángmínjhihkǒu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shènyúfángchuan"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fang²-min²-chih¹-kʻou³"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shên⁴-yü²-fang²-chʻuan¹"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fáng-mín-jr̄-kǒu-"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shèn-yú-fáng-chwān"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "farngminjykoou"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shennyufarngchuan"
    },
    {
      "roman": "fanminʹčžikou, šɛnʹjujfančuanʹ",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "фанминьчжикоу"
    },
    {
      "roman": "fanminʹčžikou, šɛnʹjujfančuanʹ",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "шэньюйфанчуань"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/fɑŋ³⁵ min³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂən⁵¹ y³⁵ fɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵⁵/",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fong⁴ man⁴ zi¹ hau²"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sam⁶ jyu¹ fong⁴ cyun¹"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fòhng màhn jī háu"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sahm yū fòhng chyūn"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Cantonese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fong⁴ man⁴ dzi¹ hau²"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Cantonese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sam⁶ jy¹ fong⁴ tsyn¹"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Guangdong-Romanization"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "fong⁴ men⁴ ji¹ heo²"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Guangdong-Romanization"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sem⁶ yu¹ fong⁴ qun¹"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/fɔːŋ²¹ mɐn²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ hɐu̯³⁵ sɐm²² jyː⁵⁵ fɔːŋ²¹ t͡sʰyːn⁵⁵/",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "防人之口,甚於防川"
    },
    {
      "word": "防人之口,甚于防川"
    },
    {
      "word": "防民之口,甚於防水"
    },
    {
      "word": "防民之口,甚于防水"
    }
  ],
  "word": "防民之口,甚於防川"
}

Download raw JSONL data for 防民之口,甚於防川 meaning in Chinese (6.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Chinese dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-08-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-08-02 using wiktextract (fb173d2 and 3c020d2). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.