言不及义 yán bù jí yì Irrelevant words

Explanation

指净说些无聊的话,没有一句正经的。

Refers to talking only nonsense, without a single sensible word.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期,有一位名叫李白的诗仙,他喜好饮酒作诗,一天他与朋友在酒楼饮酒作乐,席间,李白兴致勃勃地谈论起他最近创作的诗篇,然而,他的话语却东拉西扯,一会儿谈论起天上的星辰,一会儿又谈论起地上的花草,一会儿又谈论起他游历各地的见闻,始终没有说到诗作的主题上。朋友们听得一头雾水,不知所云。最后,一位老先生看不下去了,便对李白说:“李白先生,你说的这些话,虽然都很精彩,但是都与你作品的主题无关,可谓是言不及义啊!”李白这才意识到自己说的话偏离了主题,不禁尴尬地笑了笑。

huà shuō táng cháo shí qī, yǒu yī wèi míng jiào lǐ bái de shī xiān, tā xǐ hào yǐn jiǔ zuò shī, yī tiān tā yǔ péng yǒu zài jiǔ lóu yǐn jiǔ zuò lè, xí jiān, lǐ bái xīng zhì bó bó de tán lùn qǐ tā zuì jìn chuàng zuò de shī piān, rán ér, tā de huàyǔ què dōng lā xī chě, yī huì ér tán lùn qǐ tiān shàng de xīng chén, yī huì ér yòu tán lùn qǐ dì shàng de huā cǎo, yī huì ér yòu tán lùn qǐ tā yóu lì gè dì de jiàn wén, shǐ zhōng méi yǒu shuō dào shī zuò de zhǔ tí shàng. péng yǒu men tīng de yī tóu wù shuǐ, bù zhī suǒ yún. zuì hòu, yī wèi lǎo xiān sheng kàn bù xià qù le, biàn duì lǐ bái shuō: “lǐ bái xiān sheng, nǐ shuō de zhèxiē huà, suīrán dōu hěn jīng cǎi, dànshì dōu yǔ nǐ zuò pǐn de zhǔ tí wú guān, kě wèi shì yán bù jí yì a!”,

It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, there was a famous poet named Li Bai, who loved drinking and writing poems. One day, he was drinking with friends at a tavern. During the drinking, Li Bai enthusiastically talked about his latest poems. However, his words were rambling and aimless. He talked about the stars in the sky, the flowers on the earth, and his travels, but never about the actual subject of his poems. The friends were confused and didn't understand what he meant. Finally, an old gentleman couldn't bear it any longer and said to Li Bai: “Mr. Li Bai, your words are all very beautiful, but they have nothing to do with the theme of your work. It's just blah, blah, blah…” Li Bai then realized that he had strayed from the topic and smiled awkwardly.

Usage

用于形容说话不着边际,没有意义。

yòng yú xíngróng shuōhuà bu zhāobiànjì, méiyǒu yìyì

Used to describe someone talking irrelevant and meaningless.

Examples

  • 会议上,他说的那些话,简直是言不及义。

    huìyì shàng, tā shuō de nàxiē huà, jiǎnzhí shì yán bù jí yì.

    At the meeting, what he said was simply irrelevant.

  • 他的发言,全是些言不及义的废话。

    tā de fāyán, quán shì xiē yán bù jí yì de fèihuà

    His speech was full of meaningless nonsense