王顧左右而言他 wáng gù zuǒ yòu ér yán tā

DEFINITIONS

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

CHARACTERS

王 wáng
HSK 5
king, ruler; royal; surname
顧 gù look back; look at; look after
左 zuǒ
HSK 2
left; east; unorthodox, improper
右 yòu
HSK 2
right; west; right-wing
而 ér
HSK 3
and; and then; and yet; but
言 yán
HSK 4
words, speech; speak, say
他 tā
HSK 1
other, another; he, she, it