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说闲话 (shuō xián huà) — to gossip; to tattle; to talk idly about others

Definition

说闲话 means to gossip about other people behind their backs — idle talk about someone's private matters. It is always negative and usually refers to absent third parties.

verb
to gossipto tattleto talk idly about others

Examples

  • 说闲话。
    Tā zǒng xǐ huan zài bèi hòu shuō xián huà.
    He always likes to gossip behind people's backs.
  • ，。
    Bié shuō xián huà le, zhuān xīn gōng zuò ba.
    Stop gossiping and focus on your work.
  • ，。
    Tā dào chù shuō bié rén de xián huà, dà jiā dōu bù xǐ huan tā.
    She gossips about everyone everywhere, so nobody likes her.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

说shuōspeak
闲话idle talk
闲xiánidle话huàtalk
偏正Modifier + head

'说' means speak and '闲话' means idle talk, describing speaking idle talk about others.

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 說; 说 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì說shuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 說 pairs 言 (meaning) with 兌 (sound); the simplified 说 is not the form described here.

Open 说 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閒; 闲 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 閒 puts 月 (moon) inside 門 (door), as if moonlight peeks through a door; this picture gives the idea of a gap or space. The simplified 闲 is a later abbreviation.

Open 闲 →

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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