扼要 (è yào) — concise, to the point, brief but comprehensive

Definition

A written, formal word for 'concise and to the point' — more literary than 简单 (jǐndān, 'simple/short'). Typically describes writing or speech that covers the essentials without extra detail.

adjective
conciseto the pointbrief but comprehensive

Examples

  • 扼要。
    Qǐng è yào jiè shào zhè cì huì yì de zhǔ yào nèi róng.
    Please briefly introduce the main content of this meeting.
  • 扼要，。
    Zhè piān bào gào xiě dé hěn è yào, bù xū yào zài shān jiǎn le.
    This report is written concisely; there's no need to cut it further.
  • 扼要。
    Tā è yào dì fēn xī le dāng qián de xíng shì.
    He gave a concise analysis of the current situation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

扼ègrasp
要yàoessentials

扼 means grasp and 要 means essentials, so the phrase captures the main points briefly.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
厄
厄è扼è
Same sound today

The left side is 扌, a hand; the right side is 厄, which gives the sound.

Open 扼 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

要 began as a drawing of a person with both hands pointing to the waist.

Open 要 →

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