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片言只字
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片言只字

片言只字 — “A few words or a mere fragment of text”

片言只字 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a few words or a mere fragment of text”. Scant or incomplete written information. Literally, “a single word, a single character”.

Frequency

片言只字 Pronunciation and Pinyin

  • 片piàn
  • 言yán
  • 只zhī
  • 字zì

片言只字 Character Breakdown

CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
片
piàn4flat thin piece, slice
言
yán7speak, say, words
只
zhī5only, just, merely
字
zì6character, word, writing

Example Sentence with 片言只字

他只留下了片言只字,所以我们无法得知事情的全部经过。
He only left a few words, so we couldn't know the full story of what happened.

Idioms Related to 片言只字

Synonyms of 片言只字

  • sān三yán言liǎng两yǔ语in a few words
  • cán残piān篇duàn断jiǎn简fragmentary old writings

Antonyms of 片言只字

  • lěi累dú牍lián连piān篇excessively verbose and redundant writing
  • lián连piān篇lěi累dú牍excessively long and verbose writing

More idioms starting with 片

  • piàn片yún云zhē遮dǐng顶receive a significant favor or blessing
  • piàn片guāng光líng零yǔ羽scattered fragments of brilliance
  • piàn片shàn善xiǎo小cái才a person of limited talent or minor ability
  • piàn片jiē接cùn寸fù附to clumsily piece together disparate elements
  • piàn片wén文zhī只shì事fragmentary writings and isolated matters
  • piàn片wén文zhī只zì字a few words or a tiny bit of writing
  • piàn片wǎ瓦bù不cún存completely destroyed, not a single tile remains
  • piàn片wǎ瓦bù不liú留completely destroyed
  • piàn片wǎ瓦wú无cún存utterly destroyed, not a single tile remains
  • piàn片jiǎ甲bù不huí回suffering complete annihilation
  • piàn片jiǎ甲bù不cún存completely annihilated
  • piàn片jiǎ甲bù不guī归total defeat, no survivors

Questions about 片言只字

What does 片言只字 mean?
片言只字 (piàn yán zhī zì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a few words or a mere fragment of text”.
How do you pronounce 片言只字?
片言只字 is pronounced piàn yán zhī zì in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 片言只字 literally mean?
Literally, 片言只字 means “a single word, a single character”. It is used to mean “a few words or a mere fragment of text”.
What is the Chinese definition of 片言只字?
不多的几句话,极少的几个字。指零碎的文字材料。
Copy the pinyin for 片言只字 →Choose tone marks or tone numbers and copy the complete four-character reading.Read Chinese vocabulary and idiom guides →Continue with words, phrases, and idioms explained through natural examples.

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