唇舌 (chún shé) — (literal) lips and tongue; (figurative) argument, explanation, eloquence
Definition
Always used figuratively: 'words, argument, persuasion' — literally 'lips and tongue' but never means the body parts in modern usage. Common in set phrases like 费尽唇舌 ('exhaust one's eloquence') and 唇舌之争 ('a war of words').
noun
(literal) lips and tongue(figurative) argumentexplanationeloquence
Examples
- 唇舌。Tā fèi jìn chún shé cái shuō fú le duì fāng.He exhausted his eloquence to persuade the other side.
- 唇舌。Zhè chǎng chún shé zhī zhēng chí xù le sān gè xiǎo shí.This dispute of words lasted three hours.
- 唇舌,。Bú bì duō fèi chún shé, wǒ men zhí jiē xíng dòng ba.No need to waste words, let's act directly.
Appears in
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