道听途说 — “Heard on the road, spoken on the way”
道听途说 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Information heard on the street or from unreliable sources, often without proper verification; rumor or gossip”. Literally, “heard on the road, spoken on the way”.
道听途说 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 道dào
- 听tīng
- 途tú
- 说shuō
道听途说 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 道听途说
Origin and Story of 道听途说
One day, Mao Kong excitedly told Ai Zi, "A single duck laid a hundred eggs at once!" Ai Zi, surprised, didn't believe him.
Mao Kong quickly changed his story, "Then it must have been two ducks that laid them." Ai Zi still shook his head in disbelief. Mao Kong kept increasing the number of ducks, from three to ten, but Ai Zi remained unconvinced.
A while later, Mao Kong approached Ai Zi again, saying, "Last month, a gigantic piece of meat, thirty zhang long and twenty zhang wide, fell from the sky!" Ai Zi expressed his skepticism. Mao Kong immediately reduced the size, claiming it was only twenty zhang long and ten zhang wide, but Ai Zi's doubt persisted.
Ai Zi then asked Mao Kong, "Whose ducks were you referring to earlier, and exactly where did this meat fall?" Mao Kong, looking a bit sheepish, replied, "Oh, all of that was just talk I overheard from people on the road."
Hearing this, Ai Zi turned to his students and advised, "Remember, you must not spread unverified rumors like Mao Kong! Always seek to verify information before believing or sharing it."
Idioms Related to 道听途说
Synonyms of 道听途说
Antonyms of 道听途说
More idioms starting with 道
- dào道sān三bù不zhe着liǎng两speak irrelevantly
- dào道bù不jǔ举yí遗no one picks up lost articles on the road
- dào道bù不tóng同bù不xiāng相wéi为móu谋Different paths, different plans
- dào道bù不tóng同，，bù不xiāng相wéi为móu谋Those with different principles cannot plan together
- dào道bù不shí拾yí遗lost articles are not picked up from the street
- dào道bù不shí拾yí遗，，yè夜bù不bì闭hù户excellent public order and social security
- dào道bù不duō掇yí遗no one picks up lost articles
- dào道bù不xiāng相móu谋Those with different principles cannot plan together
- dào道dōng东shuō说xī西babble on without a clear point
- dào道yì义zhī之jiāo交friendship based on shared moral principles
- dào道bàng傍zhī之zhù筑A futile undertaking
- dào道bàng傍zhù筑shì室attempting a task with too many diverse suggestions
Questions about 道听途说
- What does 道听途说 mean?
- 道听途说 (dào tīng tú shuō) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Information heard on the street or from unreliable sources, often without proper verification; rumor or gossip”.
- How do you pronounce 道听途说?
- 道听途说 is pronounced dào tīng tú shuō in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 道听途说 literally mean?
- Literally, 道听途说 means “heard on the road, spoken on the way”. It is used to mean “Information heard on the street or from unreliable sources, often without proper verification; rumor or gossip”.
- Where does 道听途说 come from?
- 道听途说 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 道听途说?
- 道、途：路。路上听来的、路上传播的话。泛指没有根据的传闻。