而言

Chinese

		and; as well as; but (not) and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)	to speak; to say; talk to speak; to say; talk; word
simp. and trad. (而言)		而	言

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): éryán

  (Zhuyin): ㄦˊ ㄧㄢˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ji⁴ jin⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: éryán
    • Zhuyin: ㄦˊ ㄧㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: éryán
    • Wade–Giles: êrh²-yen²
    • Yale: ér-yán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: erlyan
    • Palladius: эрянь (erjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀɤɻ³⁵ jɛn³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ji⁴ jin⁴
    • Yale: yìh yìhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ji⁴ jin⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: yi⁴ yin⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiː²¹ jiːn²¹/

Verb

而言

1. to be regarding; to be in terms of; to be speaking of; to be as far as something is concerned

   就目前而言  ―  jiù mùqián éryán  ―  as it stands

   從總體而言／从总体而言  ―  cóng zǒngtǐ éryán  ―  on the whole

   相比而言  ―  xiāngbǐ éryán  ―  by comparison

   對於世界經濟而言，狀況同樣如此。 [MSC, trad.]
   对于世界经济而言，状况同样如此。 [MSC, simp.]

   Duìyú shìjiè jīngjì éryán, zhuàngkuàng tóngyàng rúcǐ. [Pinyin]

   As far as the global economy is concerned, the situation is the same.

   • 誠偽是品性，卻又是態度。從前論人誠偽，大概就品性而言。 [MSC, trad.]
     诚伪是品性，却又是态度。从前论人诚伪，大概就品性而言。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 朱自清 (Zhu Ziqing), 《論誠意》

     Chéngwěi shì pǐnxìng, què yòu shì tàidù. Cóngqián lùn rén chéngwěi, dàgài jiù pǐnxìng éryán. [Pinyin]

     Sincerity and hypocrisy make up our moral character, but they also inform our attitude. In the past, when talking of sincerity and hypocrisy, discussions centred mostly on moral character.

Usage notes

而言 (éryán) is always put at the end of a sentence structure which starts with a preposition, such as 對於／对于 (duìyú, “regarding”), 就 (jiù, “in [terms of]”) or 從／从 (cóng, “from”), or is collocated with 相比 (xiāngbǐ, “comparison”).