简明扼要 (jiǎn míng è yāo) — brief and to the point, concise (of speech or writing)

Definition

A written four-character idiom meaning 'concise and to the point' — praising speech or writing that cuts out unnecessary words. Used in formal contexts (reports, lectures, summaries) rather than casual talk.

idiom
brief and to the pointconcise (of speech or writing)

Examples

  • 简明扼要，。
    Tā de bào gào xiě dé jiǎn míng è yāo, méi yǒu yí jù fèi huà.
    His report was written concisely, without a single unnecessary word.
  • 简明扼要。
    Qǐng nǐ jiǎn míng è yāo dì jiè shào yí xià nǐ de jì huà.
    Please brief your plan concisely.
  • 简明扼要，。
    Zhè wèi lǎo shī jiǎng kè jiǎn míng è yāo, xué shēng dōu hěn xǐ huan.
    This teacher's lectures are concise and to the point; the students all like them.

Origin

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 簡; 简 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
竹竹zhú
Sound part声符shēngfú
間
閒xián簡jiǎn
Same sound today

In the traditional form 簡, 竹 (bamboo) is paired with 間 (also written 閒) as a sound part; the simplified 简 is a later shorthand.

Open 简 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.