Chinese edit

 
to have; there is; there are
to have; there is; there are; to exist; to be
ear not have mouth
trad. (有耳無喙)
simp. (有耳无喙)
alternative forms 有耳無嘴有耳无嘴
Literally: “to have ears, without a mouth”.

Pronunciation edit


Idiom edit

有耳無喙

  1. (Hokkien, figurative) Describes someone who listens but doesn't typically speak up with their opinion especially when they are expected to

Verb edit

有耳無喙

  1. (Hokkien, figurative) to silently listen (without interrupting); to listen and be quiet

Synonyms edit

Further reading edit

  • 周长楫 [Zhou, Changji], editor (2006), “有耳无喙”, in 闽南方言大词典 MINNAN FANGYAN DA CIDIAN [Dictionary of Southern Min dialects] (overall work in Hokkien and Mandarin), Fuzhou: 福建人民出版社 [Fujian People's Publishing House], →ISBN, page 41.
  • 小川尚義 (OGAWA Naoyoshi), editor (1931–1932), “有耳無嘴”, in 臺日大辭典 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary]‎[1] (overall work in Hokkien and Japanese), Taihoku: Government-General of Taiwan, →OCLC
  • Douglas, Carstairs (1873) “ū-hī bô-chhùi”, in Chinese-English Dictionary of the Vernacular or Spoken Language of Amoy, [With 1923 Supplement after the Appendix by Thomas Barclay, Shanghai: Commercial Press, Ltd.] edition (overall work in Hokkien and English), London: Trübner & Co., page 128; New Edition (With Chinese Character Glosses) edition, London: Presbyterian Church of England, 1899, page 128