一言既出,驷马难追
Yī yán jì chū, sì mǎ nán zhuī
Translation: Once one’s word has been given, even a team of four horses cannot take it back.
Meaning: What one has said cannot be unsaid; one must be careful about making promises and faithful in honoring those promises.
Vocabulary
| Character | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 一 | yī | one (Nu) |
| 言 | yán | word (N) |
| 既 | jì | already (Adv, Conj) |
| 出 | chū | to go out (V); here: to be said (V) |
| 驷马 | sì mǎ | a team of four horses (N) |
| 难 | nán | difficult, hard (Adj) |
| 追 | zhuī | to take back (V) |
Examples
一言既出,驷马难追。作为企业领导,一定要努力实现对员工的任何承诺。
A promise is a promise. As the leader of the enterprise, you must try to honor the promises you have made to your employees.
