防民之口,甚於防川

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Chinese

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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)
simp. (防民之口,甚于防川)

Etymology

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From Guoyu:

[Classical Chinese, trad.]
[Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Guoyu, circa 4th century BCE
Fángmínzhīkǒu, shènyúfángchuān. Chuān yōng ér kuì, shāng rén bì duō, mín yì rú zhī. [Pinyin]
(please add an English translation of this usage example)

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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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.