also: こと
noun
Refers to a spoken or written word, remark, or statement. Often used in formal or literary contexts, and commonly appears in compounds such as 発言 (utterance) or 言動 (words and actions).
彼の言に従って行動した。
I acted according to his words.
その言は深く心に残った。
That remark remained deeply in my heart.
The kanji 言 is a pictograph of a mouth with a tongue, representing speech. The reading げん is the on'yomi (Sino-Japanese reading), while こと is a rare kun'yomi (native Japanese reading) used in classical Japanese.