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说来话长
说来话长
说来话长
说来话长
说来话长
说来话长
说来话长
说来话长

说来话长 — “To speak of it, the story is long”

说来话长 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “it's a long and complicated story that cannot be explained in a few words, often implying something unpleasant or difficult”. Literally, “To speak of it, the story is long”.

Frequency

说来话长 Pronunciation and Pinyin

说来话长 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order
CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
说
shuō9speak, say, explain
来
lái7to come
话
huà8talk, words, speak
长
cháng4long, grow, excel, chief

Example Sentence with 说来话长

小明最近看起来很沮丧,我问他怎么了,他只说了一句“说来话长”。
Xiao Ming has seemed quite down lately. When I asked him what was wrong, he just said, 'It's a long story.'

Idioms Related to 说来话长

More idioms starting with 说

  • shuō说yī一bù不èr二mean what one says
  • shuō说yī一shì是yī一,,shuō说èr二shì是èr二mean what one says
  • shuō说qī七shuō说bā八to talk at length about various things
  • shuō说sān三dào道sì四gossip and criticize irresponsibly
  • shuō说bu不guò过qù去unacceptable or unjustifiable
  • shuō说dōng东wàng忘xī西forgetful or absent-minded
  • shuō说dōng东tán谈xī西ramble on without a central topic
  • shuō说dōng东dào道xī西talk about various unrelated subjects
  • shuō说qīn亲dào道rè热express warmth and affection verbally
  • shuō说jīn今dào道gǔ古talk about past and present
  • shuō说dào到zuò做dào到be as good as one's word
  • shuō说dào到cáo曹cāo操,,cáo曹cāo操jiù就dào到Speak of the devil

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Questions about 说来话长

What does 说来话长 mean?

说来话长 (shuō lái huà cháng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “it's a long and complicated story that cannot be explained in a few words, often implying something unpleasant or difficult”.

How do you pronounce 说来话长?

说来话长 is pronounced shuō lái huà cháng in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 说来话长 literally mean?

Literally, 说来话长 means “to speak of it, the story is long”. It is used to mean “it's a long and complicated story that cannot be explained in a few words, often implying something unpleasant or difficult”.

What is the Chinese definition of 说来话长?

表示事情很复杂,不是几句话就能说清楚(多指不大愉快的事)。

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