指东划西 — “To talk evasively or in a roundabout way, avoiding the main subject”
指东划西 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to talk evasively or in a roundabout way, avoiding the main subject”. To beat around the bush. Literally, “point east, gesture west”.
Frequency
指东划西 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 指zhǐ
- 东dōng
- 划huà
- 西xī
指东划西 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 指东划西
每次提到工作进度，他总是指东划西，让人摸不着头脑。
Every time the work progress is brought up, he always talks evasively, leaving people confused.
Idioms Related to 指东划西
Synonyms of 指东划西
More idioms starting with 指
- zhǐ指yī一shuō说shí十exaggerate a minor issue
- zhǐ指bù不shèng胜lǚ偻too many to count
- zhǐ指bù不shèng胜qū屈too many to count
- zhǐ指bù不shèng胜shù数too numerous to count
- zhǐ指dōng东dǎ打xī西feint east, attack west
- zhǐ指dōng东huà话xī西talk aimlessly or evasively
- zhǐ指dōng东shuō说xī西Beat around the bush
- zhǐ指dōng东mà骂xī西criticize indirectly
- zhǐ指shì事lèi类qíng情explain principles and illustrate situations
- zhǐ指qīn亲tuō托gù故claim kinship or feign acquaintance
- zhǐ指nìng佞chù触xié邪expose sycophants and resist evil
Questions about 指东划西
- What does 指东划西 mean?
- 指东划西 (zhǐ dōng huà xī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to talk evasively or in a roundabout way, avoiding the main subject”.
- How do you pronounce 指东划西?
- 指东划西 is pronounced zhǐ dōng huà xī in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 指东划西 literally mean?
- Literally, 指东划西 means “point east, gesture west”. It is used to mean “to talk evasively or in a roundabout way, avoiding the main subject”.
- What is the Chinese definition of 指东划西?
- 指说话时的手势动作。比喻说话避开主题，东拉西扯。