| 君子一言，驷马难追 |
jūn zǐ yī yán , sì mǎ nán zhuī |
a nobleman's word is his bond (proverb) |
| 君 |
jūn |
monarch / lord / gentleman / ruler |
| 君子 |
jūn zǐ |
nobleman / person of noble character |
| 子 |
zǐ |
son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位 / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary; subordinate; (prefix) sub- |
| 子 |
zi |
noun suffix, as in 椅子 "chair" |
| 一 |
yī |
one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire; whole; all; throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit |
| 一言 |
yī yán |
one sentence / brief remark |
| 言 |
yán |
words / speech / to say / to talk |
| 驷 |
sì |
team of 4 horses |
| 马 |
Mǎ |
surname Ma / abbr. for Malaysia 马来西亚 |
| 马 |
mǎ |
horse / CL:匹 / horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess / knight in Western chess |
| 难 |
nán |
difficult (to...) / problem / difficulty / difficult / not good |
| 难 |
nàn |
disaster / distress / to scold |
| 追 |
duī |
to sculpt / to carve / musical instrument (old) |
| 追 |
zhuī |
to chase / to pursue / to look into / to investigate / to reminisce / to recall / to court (one's beloved) / to binge-watch (a TV drama) / retroactively / posthumously |