王顧左右而言他 wáng gù zuǒ yòu ér yán tā

to digress from the topic of discussion (idiom)

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to digress from the topic of discussion (idiom)
  2. 2. the king looked left and right and then talked of other things

Characters

Character Meaning
王 wáng HSK 5
surname Wang; king or monarch
顧 gù
to look after; to attend to; to take into consideration
左 zuǒ HSK 2
left; surname Zuo; the Left (politics)
右 yòu HSK 2
right (-hand); the Right (politics); west (old)
而 ér HSK 3
and; but (not); (indicates contrast)
言 yán HSK 4
to say; to talk; speech
他 tā HSK 1
he or him