桃李不言

táolǐ bù yán

proverb

Meanings

1 peach and plum trees say nothing
2 true merit draws people without words

Characters

Examples

HSK 4

老医生从来不做广告，桃李不言，病人还是从各地赶来。

Lǎo yīshēng cónglái bú zuò guǎnggào, táolǐ bù yán, bìngrén háishi cóng gèdì gǎnlái.

The old doctor never advertises. Like the silent peach and plum trees, he still draws patients from all over.

HSK 7-9

桃李不言，下自成蹊，他从不宣传自己，学生却越来越多。

Táolǐ bù yán, xià zì chéng xī, tā cóngbù xuānchuán zìjǐ, xuésheng què yuèláiyuè duō.

Peach and plum trees say nothing, yet a path forms beneath them: he never promotes himself, yet he has more and more students.

Tips

history

The full saying is 桃李不言，下自成蹊, 'peach and plum trees say nothing, yet a path forms beneath them', because people come for the blossoms and the fruit. 司马迁 quotes it at the end of his life of the general 李广 in the 史记, for a man of few words whom everyone trusted.

Stroke Order

桃 táo

李 lǐ

不 bù

言 yán