说来话长
shuō lái huà cháng
Pinyin

Definition

说来话长
 - 
shuō lái huà cháng
  1. start explaining and it's a long story (idiom); complicated and not easy to express succinctly

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

下来
xià lai
  1. 1 to come down
  2. 2 (completed action marker)
  3. 3 (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.)
  4. 4 (indicates continuation from the past towards us)
  5. 5 to be harvested (of crops)
  6. 6 to be over (of a period of time)
  7. 7 to go among the masses (said of leaders)
来
lái
  1. 1 to come
  2. 2 to arrive
  3. 3 to come round
  4. 4 ever since
  5. 5 next
来自
lái zì
  1. 1 to come from (a place)
  2. 2 From: (in email header)
传说
chuán shuō
  1. 1 legend
  2. 2 folklore
  3. 3 to repeat from mouth to mouth
  4. 4 they say that...
出来
chū lái
  1. 1 to come out
  2. 2 to appear
  3. 3 to arise
原来
yuán lái
  1. 1 original
  2. 2 former
  3. 3 originally
  4. 4 formerly
  5. 5 at first
  6. 6 so, actually, as it turns out
回来
huí lai
  1. 1 to return
  2. 2 to come back
大话骰
dà huà tóu
  1. 1 liar's dice (dice game)
从来
cóng lái
  1. 1 always
  2. 2 at all times
  3. 3 never (if used in negative sentence)
成长
chéng zhǎng
  1. 1 to mature
  2. 2 to grow
  3. 3 growth
未来
wèi lái
  1. 1 future
  2. 2 tomorrow
  3. 3 CL:個|个[gè]
  4. 4 approaching
  5. 5 coming
  6. 6 pending
话
huà
  1. 1 dialect
  2. 2 language
  3. 3 spoken words
  4. 4 speech
  5. 5 talk
  6. 6 words
  7. 7 conversation
  8. 8 what sb said
  9. 9 CL:種|种[zhǒng],席[xí],句[jù],口[kǒu],番[fān]
说
shuì
  1. 1 to persuade
起来
qǐ lai
  1. 1 to stand up
  2. 2 to get up
  3. 3 also pr. [qǐ lái]
越来越
yuè lái yuè
  1. 1 more and more
过来
guò lái
  1. 1 to come over
  2. 2 to manage
  3. 3 to handle
  4. 4 to be able to take care of
长
cháng
  1. 1 length
  2. 2 long
  3. 3 forever
  4. 4 always
  5. 5 constantly
电话
diàn huà
  1. 1 telephone
  2. 2 CL:部[bù]
  3. 3 phone call
  4. 4 CL:通[tōng]
  5. 5 phone number
上来
shàng lái
  1. 1 to come up
  2. 2 to approach
  3. 3 (verb complement indicating success)
以来
yǐ lái
  1. 1 since (a previous event)

Idioms (20)

一技之长
yī jì zhī cháng
  1. 1 proficiency in a particular field (idiom)
  2. 2 skill in a specialized area (idiom)
三句话不离本行
sān jù huà bù lí běn háng
  1. 1 to talk shop all the time (idiom)
不问就听不到假话
bù wèn jiù tīng bù dào jiǎ huà
  1. 1 Don't ask and you won't be told any lies. (idiom)
不经一事，不长一智
bù jīng yī shì , bù zhǎng yī zhì
  1. 1 You can't gain knowledge without practical experience (idiom); wisdom only comes with experience
不说自明
bù shuō zì míng
  1. 1 self-explanatory
  2. 2 self-evident (idiom)
二话不说
èr huà bù shuō
  1. 1 not saying anything further (idiom); not raising any objection
  2. 2 without demur
什么风把你吹来的
shén me fēng bǎ nǐ chuī lái de
  1. 1 What brings you here? (idiom)
但说无妨
dàn shuō wú fáng
  1. 1 there is no harm in saying what one thinks (idiom)
来去无踪
lái qù wú zōng
  1. 1 come without a shadow, leave without a footprint (idiom); to come and leave without a trace
来得容易，去得快
lái de róng yì , qù de kuài
  1. 1 Easy come, easy go. (idiom)
来日方长
lái rì fāng cháng
  1. 1 the future is long (idiom); there will be ample time for that later
  2. 2 We'll cross that bridge when we get there
来无影，去无踪
lái wú yǐng , qù wú zōng
  1. 1 lit. come without a shadow, leave without a footprint (idiom); to come and go without a trace
来者不善，善者不来
lái zhě bù shàn , shàn zhě bù lái
  1. 1 He who comes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning will come (idiom).
  2. 2 Be careful not to trust foreigners.
  3. 3 Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!
来者不拒
lái zhě bù jù
  1. 1 to refuse nobody (idiom)
  2. 2 all comers welcome
来鸿去燕
lái hóng qù yàn
  1. 1 lit. the goose comes, the swallow goes (idiom); fig. always on the move
来龙去脉
lái lóng qù mài
  1. 1 the rise and fall of the terrain (idiom)
  2. 2 (fig.) the whole sequence of events
  3. 3 causes and effects
倾巢来犯
qīng cháo lái fàn
  1. 1 to turn out in force ready to attack (idiom)
光说不做
guāng shuō bù zuò
  1. 1 all talk and no action (idiom)
  2. 2 to preach what one does not practice
光说不练
guāng shuō bù liàn
  1. 1 all talk and no action (idiom)
  2. 2 to preach what one does not practice
  3. 3 same as 光說不做|光说不做[guāng shuō bù zuò]
两国相争，不斩来使
liǎng guó xiāng zhēng , bù zhǎn lái shǐ
  1. 1 when two kingdoms are at war, they don't execute envoys (idiom)

Sample Sentences

我啊，这说来话长了，总之，我吃了我丈夫的长生不老药，就飞到月亮上来了，现在真是后悔啊...
wǒ ā ，zhè shuōláihuàcháng le ，zǒngzhī ，wǒ chī le wǒ zhàngfu de chángshēngbùlǎo yào ，jiù fēi dào yuèliàng shàng lái le ，xiànzài zhēn shì hòuhuǐ ā ...
Me? It's a long story. In sum, I ate my husband's elixir of immortality and then flew to the moon, now I really regret it...
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这个说来话长。我简单地跟你说一下吧。 道教是中国土生土长的宗教。以“道”为最高信仰。
zhège shuōláihuàcháng 。wǒ jiǎndān de gēn nǐ shuō yīxià ba 。 Dàojiào shì Zhōngguó tǔshēngtǔzhǎng de zōngjiào 。yǐ “dào ”wéi zuì gāo xìnyǎng 。
There's a lot to say on that. I'll tell you simply. Taoism is a religion indigenous to China. Its highest article of faith is ``the way."
Go to Lesson