一言难尽 — “It's a long and complicated story”
一言难尽 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “it's a long and complicated story”. Often implying something unpleasant or difficult to articulate fully. Literally, “Hard to fully explain in a single phrase”.
Frequency
一言难尽 Pronunciation and Pinyin
一言难尽 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 一言难尽
他最近过得怎么样？哎，这事儿真是让人一言难尽啊。
How has he been doing lately? Oh, it's a long and complicated story.
Idioms Related to 一言难尽
Synonyms of 一言难尽
Antonyms of 一言难尽
More idioms starting with 一
- yī一dīng丁bù不shí识completely illiterate
- yī一dīng丁diǎn点er儿a tiny bit
- yī一bù不zuò作，，èr二bù不xiū休Finish what you start
- yī一bù不zuò做，，èr二bù不xiū休in for a penny, in for a pound
- yī一bù不yā压zhòng众，，bǎi百bù不suí随yī一The minority cannot prevail against the majority
- yī一bù不niǔ扭zhòng众One person cannot defy the crowd
- yī一shì世zhī之xióng雄A hero of a generation
- yī一shì世lóng龙mén门A generation's revered influential figure
- yī一qiū丘yī一hè壑live contentedly in nature
- yī一qiū丘zhī之hé貉birds of a feather
- yī一sī丝yī一háo毫the slightest amount
- yī一sī丝bù不luàn乱perfectly orderly and neat
Recommended tools
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →Questions about 一言难尽
What does 一言难尽 mean?
一言难尽 (yī yán nán jìn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “it's a long and complicated story”.
How do you pronounce 一言难尽?
一言难尽 is pronounced yī yán nán jìn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 一言难尽 literally mean?
Literally, 一言难尽 means “Hard to fully explain in a single phrase”. It is used to mean “it's a long and complicated story”.
What is the Chinese definition of 一言难尽?
形容事情曲折复杂，不是一句话能说清楚的（用在不好的事）。