贻人口实

貽人口實

yírénkǒushí

idiom

Meanings

1 to give others a handle (against oneself)
2 to leave oneself open to criticism
3 to give people something to talk about

Characters

to leave behind / to give

person / others

substance / material

Examples

公开人物言行要谨慎，免得贻人口实。

Gōngkāi rénwù yánxíng yào jǐnshèn, miǎnde yí rén kǒushí.

Public figures must be careful in word and deed, or they'll give people ammunition against them.

这件事处理不好，恐怕会贻人口实。

Zhè jiàn shì chǔlǐ bù hǎo, kǒngpà huì yí rén kǒushí.

If this matter is handled badly, it could become a handle for criticism.

Tips

history

The phrase 口实 ('mouth-stuff', i.e. talking points) appears in 《尚书·仲虺之诰》: 于恐来世以台为口实 — fearing later generations would use 'me' as their talking point. By the Ming-Qing era 贻人口实 was a fixed idiom for handing critics ammunition.

memory

贻 (give, leave behind) + 人 (others) + 口实 (mouth-fodder, i.e. talking points) — literally 'leave others mouth-fodder'.

Stroke Order

贻 yí

人 rén

口 kǒu

实 shí