食言

shíyán

verb #11,815

Meanings

Tā dāyìng le què yòu shíyán le.

He promised but then broke his word.

Yī gè lǐngdǎo bù yīnggāi shíyán.

A leader should not break their promises.

history

Literally 'to eat one's words.' The metaphor is that you swallow back the words you said, treating your promise as nothing.

usage

Often used in the phrase 食言而肥, meaning 'to grow fat from eating one's words' (breaking promises shamelessly).

食 shí

言 yán