quân tử nhất ngôn

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 君子 (“superior person”) and 一言 (“to speak once”).

From Analects:

子-貢曰：「君子一言以為知，一言以為不知，言不可不慎也。……」 [Vietnamese Literary Sinitic, trad.]

Tử Cống viết: “Quân tử nhất ngôn dĩ vi trí, nhất ngôn dĩ vi bất trí, ngôn bất khả bất thận dã. [...]” [Sino-Vietnamese]

Zi Gong said: "The superior person, by speaking once, is taken as wise; by speaking once is taken as unwise; one cannot afford to speak carelessly. [...]"

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kwən˧˧ tɨ˧˩ ɲət̚˧˦ ŋon˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kwəŋ˧˧ tɨ˧˨ ɲək̚˦˧˥ ŋoŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [wəŋ˧˧ tɨ˨˩˦ ɲək̚˦˥ ŋoŋ˧˧]

Phrase

quân tử nhất ngôn

1. (rare, usually humorous) I give you my word; you have my word