无言以对

無言以對

wúyányǐduì

idiom #37,815

Meanings

Miànduì māma de zhìwèn, tā wúyányǐduì.

Faced with his mother's interrogation, he had nothing to say in reply.

Zhèngjù bǎi zài yǎnqián, bèigào wúyányǐduì.

With the evidence right in front of him, the defendant was speechless.

grammar

Pattern: 无 X 以 Y — 'to have no X with which to Y.' Same structure in 无言以对, 无以为报, 无地自容. The 以 marks instrumental use.

usage

Implies the silence comes from being cornered or refuted, not from politeness or shyness. For tongue-tied embarrassment, use 哑口无言.

无 wú

言 yán

以 yǐ

对 duì