食言 (shíyán) to break one’s promise or word

Usage:

“食言”的字面意思是吃掉说过的话,引申为违背诺言,不能做到自己以前承诺的那样。
“食言” literally means to eat one’s own words, and is extended to mean to break one’s promise.

Sentences:

1、Yīnwèi tā duōcì shíyán, tōngshìmen dōu búzài xìnrèn tā le.
因为他多次食言,同事们都不再信任他了。
His colleagues no longer believe in him, because he has broken his words many times.

2、Mǎlì shàngzhōu lái Běi jīng xuéxí Hànyǔ le, tā guǒrán méiyǒu shíyán.
玛丽上周来北京学习汉语了,她果然没有食言。
Mary came to Beijing to learn Chinese last week, and she didn’t eat her words as expected.

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