听其言观其行

聽其言觀其行
tīngqíyánguānqíxíng
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 listen to what they say and watch what they do
  2. 2 judge a person by their actions, not their words

Examples

HSK 6
Duì yīgè rén, yào tīng qí yán guān qí xíng, bùnéng zhǐ kàn biǎomiàn.
When judging a person, listen to what they say and watch what they do - don't just look at the surface.
HSK 6
Miànshìguān de yuánzé shì tīng qí yán guān qí xíng.
The interviewer's principle is to listen to what people say and observe what they do.

Tips

history
From 《论语·公冶长》: 始吾于人也听其言而信其行今吾于人也听其言而观其行 - Confucius says he used to trust a person's actions based on their words, but now he listens to words and watches actions independently. The shift is from naive trust to evidence-based judgment.

Stroke Order

tīng
yán
guān
xíng