眼见为实，耳听为虚 in English yan3 jian4 wei2 shi2 , er3 ting1 wei2 xu1 Meaning

Meanings

  • to believe what one sees, not what one hears (idiomatic expression). Don't believe what people tell you until you see if for yourself.
  • It ain't necessarily so.

Simplified Characters

眼 见 为 实 ， 耳 听 为 虚

Traditional Characters

眼 見 為 實 ， 耳 聽 為 虛

Pinyin

yan3 jian4 wei2 shi2 , er3 ting1 wei2 xu1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

眼yan3eye 见jian4to see 为wei4as (in the capacity of) 实shi2real ， 耳er3ear 听ting1smile (archaic) 为wei4as (in the capacity of) 虚xu1emptiness