言归正传 yán guī zhèng zhuàn to get back to the point

Explanation

指说话回到正题上。

Refers to returning to the main topic of a conversation.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，一位著名的诗人李白，有一天和他的朋友们在花园里聚会，大家一边赏花，一边谈笑风生。一开始，他们谈论的是诗歌创作，可是后来不知怎么的，话题就转到了其他的方面，比如打猎、下棋、甚至是厨房里发生的趣事，都成了大家谈论的焦点。这时，一位朋友突然说道： “诸位，言归正传吧，我们今天的主要目的是为了欣赏这些美丽的景色和讨论诗歌创作，可别忘了我们的初衷呀！”大家这才恍然大悟，纷纷把话题转回到诗歌上来，继续他们的文学交流。

huashuotanchaoshiqi,yiweizhumingdeshirenliba,youyitianhhetadefengyoumenzaihua yuanlijuhui,dajiayibian shang hua,yibian tanxiaofengsheng.yikaishi,tamentanlun deshi shige chuangzuo,keshi houlai buzhi zenme de,huati jiu zhuandaole qitadeshifangmian,biru da lie,xiaqi,shenzhishichufanglifa shengde qushi,douchengleda jia tanlundefocus. zhe shi,yiwei pengyou turan shouddao: “zhuwei,yanguizhengzhuan ba,women jintian de zhuyaomude shiweile xinshang zhexie meili de jingsese he taolun shigechuangzuo,ke bie wangle women de chuzhong ya!”dajiacai zai huangerwu,fenfen ba huati zhuanhuidao shigeshanglai,jixu tamen de wenxue jiaoliu.

Once upon a time in ancient China, a famous poet, Li Bai, was having a gathering with his friends in a beautiful garden. They started by discussing poetry, but soon the conversation drifted to other topics—hunting, chess, even funny incidents in the kitchen. Then, one friend exclaimed, "Let's get back to the point! Our main purpose is to appreciate the scenery and discuss poetry." Everyone realized their digression and returned to their literary exchange.

Usage

用于把话题转回到正题上来。

yongyu ba huati zhuanhuidao zhengtishanglai

Used to bring the conversation back to the main topic.

Examples

• 闲话少说，言归正传，咱们开始开会吧！

  xianhuashaoshuo,yanguizhengzhuan,zanmenkaishikaihuiba!

  To get down to business, let's start the meeting!

• 扯了半天，言归正传，我们还是讨论正事吧。

  chelebantian,yanguizhengzhuan,womenhaishi taolunzhengshiba

  After all that chatter, let's get back to the main point.

Related Idioms

• 开门见山

• 直奔主题

Opposite Idioms

• 离题万里

• 东拉西扯