谚 (yàn): proverb; saying; adage

Meanings

谚语说得好，一寸光阴一寸金。

Yànyǔ shuō de hǎo, yícùnguāngyīnyícùnjīn.

As the proverb goes, time is money.

农谚总结了世代的经验。

Nóng yàn zǒngjié le shìdài de jīngyàn.

Farming proverbs sum up generations of experience.

usage

Common in 谚语 (proverb) and 农谚 (farming saying). These are short, fixed folk sayings passed down through speech.

radical

讠 yán

speech; words

The speech radical (left-side form of 言) fits the meaning: a proverb is a fixed saying handed down by word of mouth.

phonetic

彦 yàn

a man of talent

Supplies the reading yàn; its sense of refined wisdom also suits the polished, time-tested nature of a proverb.

谚 yàn