📖 Meaning
To have a mouth but find it difficult to speak. It describes a situation where someone has something to say but cannot or dares not say it aloud, often due to fear, embarrassment, or external pressure.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from a poem by the Song dynasty poet Su Shi titled 'The Drunken Sleeper,' which contains the lines: 'When the Way is hard to follow, better to be drunk; when one has a mouth but cannot speak, better to sleep.' The idiom captures the helplessness of being unable to voice one's thoughts. It was later widely used in classical literature, including Yuan dynasty dramas such as Guan Hanqing's 'The Injustice to Dou E.'
💡 Example Usage
他受了委屈却有口难言，只能默默忍受。
He was wronged but found it impossible to speak out, so he could only suffer in silence.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 有口难言
- Pinyin: yǒu kǒu nán yán
- Literal Translation: have, mouth, difficult, speak
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4