一言既出，駟馬難追 yī yán jì chū ， sì mǎ nán zhuī

words can’t be taken back; keep one’s promise

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. once said, a team of horses cannot unsay it (idiom); a promise must be kept

Characters

Character Meaning
一 yī HSK 1
one; 1; single
言 yán HSK 4
to say; to talk; speech
既 jì HSK 4
already; since; both... (and...)
出 chū HSK 1
to go out; to come out
駟 sì
team of 4 horses
馬 mǎ
horse; surname Ma
難 nán
difficult; difficult (to...); difficulty
追 zhuī HSK 5
to chase after; to seek