








防民之口,甚于防水 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “it is more difficult and unwise to suppress public opinion than to block a flood; silencing people will lead to greater problems”. Literally, “Blocking the mouths of the people is more difficult than blocking water”.

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Open the tool →防民之口,甚于防水 (fáng mín zhī kǒu , shén yú fáng shuǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “it is more difficult and unwise to suppress public opinion than to block a flood; silencing people will lead to greater problems”.
防民之口,甚于防水 is pronounced fáng mín zhī kǒu , shén yú fáng shuǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 防民之口,甚于防水 means “Blocking the mouths of the people is more difficult than blocking water”. It is used to mean “it is more difficult and unwise to suppress public opinion than to block a flood; silencing people will lead to greater problems”.
防:阻止;甚:超过。想堵住人民的嘴,比堵塞河水还难。指不让人民说话,是不明智的