失言 (shīyán): to make a slip of the tongue

Meanings

1 to make a slip of the tongue
2 to misspeak
3 to blurt out something one shouldn't

Characters

失

Examples

对不起，我刚才失言了。

Duìbuqǐ, wǒ gāngcái shīyán le.

I'm sorry, I misspoke just now.

酒后容易失言，要小心。

Jiǔ hòu róngyì shīyán, yào xiǎoxīn.

It's easy to blurt out the wrong thing after drinking — be careful.

Tips

memory

Literally 'lose words' — to lose control of what you say. Compare 失口 (shīkǒu, same meaning, 'lose mouth'), 失礼 (shīlǐ, lose manners/be rude), 失态 (shītài, lose composure). The 失- prefix consistently means 'lose / fail to maintain'.