Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Don't say we didn't tell it before


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete. Lack of sources discussing the usage rather than just using the phrase. RL0919 (talk) 18:53, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

Don't say we didn't tell it before

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Article about a thing that's not really a thing. Despite the weird title, talk page discussion has identified that it's really just a bad translation of a phrase more appropriately translated as "Don't say I/we didn't warn you" -- but that's a phrase that basically everybody on earth has heard from our own mothers at some point in our lives. This simply isn't a uniquely Chinese expression or concept — it's just the Chinese-language version of a phrase that exists in many languages, and always means "You're doing something dumb, stop it or you'll be sorry". Even in a political or diplomatic context, literally any government could potentially use its own language's version of "don't say we didn't warn you" as a war threat, so even that isn't a basis for claiming uniqueness here. And this article just lists four specific examples of the phrase being used, but fails to demonstrate a reason why the Chinese version of it would be more notable than its equivalent in any other language — it sources the fact that the phrase was used, but fails to source that there's been any analysis about the usage as a topic. And per WP:WAX, the fact that an article exists on the Chinese Wikipedia is not a reason why one automatically needs to exist in English too. Bearcat (talk) 17:23, 2 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Politics-related deletion discussions. Bearcat (talk) 17:23, 2 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of China-related deletion discussions. Bearcat (talk) 17:23, 2 December 2019 (UTC)


 * Comment: Don't Say We Didn't Warn You is an album. No article at Don't say we didn't warn you. Possible needs an article? Hyperbolick (talk) 21:00, 2 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Comment: Propose to rename as 'Don't Say We Didn't Warn You' or 'Don't Say We Didn't Warn You (Chinese Diplomatic Term)' GodCallMeGod (talk) 17:43, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * GodCallMeGod is the creator of the contested article. -The Gnome (talk) 15:03, 9 December 2019 (UTC)


 * Comment: I would like to emphasize that 勿谓言之不预也 is different from Don't say we didn't warn you as the Chinese term is not Mandarin, but classical Chinese. It has sources in Chinese literature. If you would like to express it mandarin Chinese (modern Chinese language today), it should be 别说我没警告过你. Different ways of expression implies different lingual atmosphere. Moreover, it is filled with a diplomatic meaning by Chinese Government. It deserves to be an article as of enough public concern, and the only issue is the right way of translation.GodCallMeGod (talk) 17:53, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Its diplomatic meaning is no different in Chinese than it would be if the Canadian government used the English or French versions of the same phrase, if the American government used the English version, if the German government used the German equivalent, and on and so forth. It doesn't have special meaning in Chinese that's greater than its meaning in any other language. Bearcat (talk) 01:24, 7 December 2019 (UTC)


 * Delete for the reasons exemplarily denoted in the nomination. This would be, at best, a common expression in Chinese, undeserving of an independent Wikipedia article, since no verifiable evidence of its notability is brought forth; we only get evidence of its use, which is not unlike submitting evidence of the wide use of the definite article to support a separate entry for "the." But Wikipedia is not a dictionary. -The Gnome (talk) 15:03, 9 December 2019 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.