听其言而观其行 tīng qí yán ér guān qí xíng

judge by actions, not words

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. hear what he says and observe what he does (idiom, from Analects); judge a person not by his words, but by his actions

Characters

Character Meaning
to listen; to hear; to obey
its; their; it (refers to sth preceding it)
to say; to talk; speech
and; but (not); (indicates contrast)
point of view; concept; to watch
its; their; it (refers to sth preceding it)
all right; OK!; will do