灯不拨不亮，话不说不明燈不撥不亮，話不說不明燈不撥不亮，話不説不明

a lamp doesn't brighten unless trimmed; words aren't clear unless spoken

Saying俗语俗語

Proverb谚语諺語 · Widely known

Meaning: Things become clear only when you take action or speak out. Encourages speaking plainly.

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Simplified: 灯不拨不亮，话不说不明
Traditional (Taiwan): 燈不撥不亮，話不說不明
Traditional (Hong Kong): 燈不撥不亮，話不説不明
Pinyin: dēng bù bō bú liàng, huà bù shuō bùmíng
Bopomofo: ㄉㄥㄅㄨˋ ㄅㄛㄅㄨˊ ㄌㄧㄤˋ，ㄏㄨㄚˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄕㄨㄛㄅㄨˋ ㄇㄧㄥˊ

Written with HSK 7-9 vocabulary, at CEFR level C1.

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