三言两语 sān yán liǎng yǔ Three words, two words

Explanation

形容说话简短，几句话就把意思表达清楚了。

Describes a short speech, a few words make the meaning clear.

Origin Story

在一个遥远的国度，住着一位名叫王大人的老先生。他以智慧著称，总是能用最简练的语言，说清复杂的问题。有一次，一个年轻的学子向他请教如何学好书法。王大人只用了三言两语就点明了关键： “心静则笔稳，意到则神清。”学子听了，恍然大悟，从此书法大有进步。从此以后，人们便用“三言两语”来形容那些简短却充满智慧的话语。

zài yī gè yáo yuǎn de guó dù, zhù zhe yī wèi míng jiào wáng dà rén de lǎo xiān shēng. tā yǐ zhì huì zhù chéng, zǒng shì néng yòng zuì jiǎn liàn de yǔ yán, shuō qīng fù zá de wèn tí. yǒu yī cì, yī gè nián qīng de xué zǐ xiàng tā qǐng jiào rú hé xué hǎo shū fǎ. wáng dà rén zhǐ yòng le sān yán liǎng yǔ jiù diǎn míng le guān jiàn: “xīn jìng zé bǐ wěn, yì dào zé shén qīng.” xué zǐ tīng le, huǎng rán dà wù, cóng cǐ shū fǎ dà yǒu jìn zhì. cóng cǐ yǐ hòu, rén men biàn yòng “sān yán liǎng yǔ” lái xíng róng nà xiē jiǎn duǎn què chōng mǎn zhì huì de yǔ yán.

In a distant land, lived an old gentleman named Mr. Wang. He was known for his wisdom and could always explain complex issues with the most concise language. Once, a young scholar asked him how to learn calligraphy. Mr. Wang pointed out the key in a few words: "When the mind is calm, the pen is steady, when the intention is there, the spirit is clear." The scholar was enlightened and made great progress in calligraphy. From then on, people used the expression "three words, two words" to describe those short but wise words.

Usage

这个成语一般用作主语、宾语和状语，用来形容说话简明扼要。

zhè gè chéng yǔ yī bān yòng zuò zhǔ yǔ, bīn yǔ hé zhuàng yǔ, yòng lái xíng róng shuō huà jiǎn míng è yào.

This idiom is generally used as the subject, object and adverbial, to describe the concise speech.

Examples

• 他三言两语就把事情解释清楚了。

  tā sān yán liǎng yǔ jiù bǎ shì qíng jiě shì qīng chǔ le

  He explained the matter in a few words.

• 事情很复杂，三言两语说不清楚。

  shì qíng hěn fù zá, sān yán liǎng yǔ shuō bù qīng chǔ

  The matter is complicated and cannot be explained in a few words.

• 老师三言两语就点明了学习的关键。

  lǎo shī sān yán liǎng yǔ jiù diǎn míng le xué xí de guān jiàn

  The teacher pointed out the key to learning in a few words.

Related Idioms

• 只言片语

• 简明扼要

• 三言两句

Opposite Idioms

• 长篇大论

• 喋喋不休