防民之口，甚於防川

Chinese

		to protect; to defend; to guard (against)	the people; nationality; citizen	's; him/her/it; this	mouth; (a measure word, for people, livestock or utensils)		very; extremely; more (than) very; extremely; more (than); what	in; at; to in; at; to; from; by; than; out of; surname	to protect; to defend; to guard (against)	river; creek; plain river; creek; plain; an area of level country; Sichuan province (abbrev.)
trad. (防民之口，甚於防川)		防	民	之	口	，	甚	於	防	川
simp. (防民之口，甚于防川)		防	民	之	口	，	甚	于	防	川

Etymology

From Guoyu:

防民之口，甚於防川。川壅而潰，傷人必多，民亦如之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

防民之口，甚于防川。川壅而溃，伤人必多，民亦如之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Guoyu, circa 4^th century BCE

Fángmínzhīkǒu, shènyúfángchuān. Chuān yōng ér kuì, shāng rén bì duō, mín yì rú zhī. [Pinyin]

Silencing people is more sinister than blocking rivers. If the river is blocked, it will eventually burst, and many people will be injured, the same goes for the suppressed people.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): fángmínzhīkǒu, shènyúfángchuān

  (Zhuyin): ㄈㄤˊ ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄓ ㄎㄡˇ , ㄕㄣˋ ㄩˊ ㄈㄤˊ ㄔㄨㄢ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): fong⁴ man⁴ zi¹ hau², sam⁶ jyu¹ fong⁴ cyun¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: fángmínzhīkǒu, shènyúfángchuān
    • Zhuyin: ㄈㄤˊ ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄓ ㄎㄡˇ , ㄕㄣˋ ㄩˊ ㄈㄤˊ ㄔㄨㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: fángmínjhihkǒu, shènyúfángchuan
    • Wade–Giles: fang²-min²-chih¹-kʻou³, shên⁴-yü²-fang²-chʻuan¹
    • Yale: fáng-mín-jr̄-kǒu-, shèn-yú-fáng-chwān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: farngminjykoou, shennyufarngchuan
    • Palladius: фанминьчжикоу, шэньюйфанчуань (fanminʹčžikou, šɛnʹjujfančuanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɑŋ³⁵ min³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂən⁵¹ y³⁵ fɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: fong⁴ man⁴ zi¹ hau², sam⁶ jyu¹ fong⁴ cyun¹
    • Yale: fòhng màhn jī háu, sahm yū fòhng chyūn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fong⁴ man⁴ dzi¹ hau², sam⁶ jy¹ fong⁴ tsyn¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: fong⁴ men⁴ ji¹ heo², sem⁶ yu¹ fong⁴ qun¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɔːŋ²¹ mɐn²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ hɐu̯³⁵ sɐm²² jyː⁵⁵ fɔːŋ²¹ t͡sʰyːn⁵⁵/

Idiom

防民之口，甚於防川

1. It is more sinister and ominous to stop civilians from speaking than to block the river flows.

Synonyms

• 防人之口，甚於防川 / 防人之口，甚于防川
• 防民之口，甚於防水 / 防民之口，甚于防水

 

References

• “Entry #36304”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.