ChinesePod

说来话长 (說來話長)

shuō lái huà cháng

Pinyin

Definition

说来话长 (說來話長)

-

shuō lái huà cháng

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 to come down
2 (completed action marker)
3 (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.)
4 (indicates continuation from the past towards us)
5 to be harvested (of crops)
6 to be over (of a period of time)
7 to go among the masses (said of leaders)

来

lái

1 to come
2 to arrive
3 to come round
4 ever since
5 next

来自

lái zì

1 to come from (a place)
2 From: (in email header)

传说

chuán shuō

1 legend
2 folklore
3 to repeat from mouth to mouth
4 they say that...

出来

chū lái

1 to come out
2 to appear
3 to arise

Idioms (20)

一技之长

yī jì zhī cháng

1 proficiency in a particular field (idiom)
2 skill in a specialized area (idiom)

三句话不离本行

sān jù huà bù lí běn háng

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 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 You can't gain knowledge without practical experience (idiom); wisdom only comes with experience

不说自明

bù shuō zì míng

1 self-explanatory
2 self-evident (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...

Go to Lesson

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