巧舌如簧

qiǎoshérúhuáng

idiom #36,475

Meanings

1 to have a glib tongue
2 silver-tongued
3 to speak with deceptive eloquence

Characters

skillful / clever

reed (of a wind instrument)

Examples

这个推销员巧舌如簧，让人难以拒绝。

Zhège tuīxiāoyuán qiǎoshérúhuáng, ràng rén nányǐ jùjué.

This salesman is so silver-tongued that it's hard to refuse him.

别被他巧舌如簧的话骗了。

Bié bèi tā qiǎoshérúhuáng de huà piàn le.

Don't be fooled by his glib talk.

Tips

history

From the Shijing (Book of Songs), 'Xiaoya: Qiao Yan' (《诗经·小雅·巧言》): 巧言如簧，颜之厚矣 — 'glib words like a reed-pipe, what a thick face'. The 簧 (huáng) is the vibrating reed of a wind instrument; the metaphor is that the speaker's tongue produces sweet-sounding music designed to deceive.

register

Almost always negative — used to describe smooth-talkers, con artists, and slick politicians, not genuinely eloquent speakers.

Stroke Order

巧 qiǎo

舌 shé

如 rú

簧 huáng