有言在先

yǒuyán-zàixiān

idiom #37,801

Meanings

1 to have made it clear in advance
2 to have given prior warning
3 as agreed beforehand

Characters

first; beforehand

Examples

HSK 4

我有言在先，迟到就不等了。

Wǒ yǒuyánzàixiān, chídào jiù bù děng le.

I made it clear in advance - if you're late we won't wait.

HSK 7-9

咱们有言在先，谁也不许反悔。

Zánmen yǒuyánzàixiān, shéi yě bùxǔ fǎnhuǐ.

We agreed beforehand - no one is allowed to back out.

Tips

history

The phrase appears in Feng Menglong's late-Ming collection 醒世恒言 ('Stories to Awaken the World'): 他有言在先，你今日不须惊怕 - 'he gave prior warning, so you needn't be afraid today.' Used today to invoke a previously-stated condition or warning.

usage

Often appears at the start of a sentence to preface a condition you're about to enforce: 有言在先, ... = 'Just so we're clear...' The implication is the listener can't claim ignorance later.

Stroke Order

有 yǒu

言 yán

在 zài

先 xiān