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一般说来 (yì bān shuō lái) — generally speaking

Definition

A fixed phrase used at the start of a sentence to introduce a general rule or tendency — English 'generally speaking'. Functions as a discourse frame, not a main verb.

verb
generally speaking

Examples

  • 一般说来，。
    yì bān shuō lái, Běi fāng de dōng tiān bǐ nán fāng lěng dé duō.
    Generally speaking, winters in the north are much colder than in the south.
  • 一般说来，。
    yì bān shuō lái, Nián qīng rén gèng xǐ huan shǐ yòng shè jiāo méi tǐ.
    Generally speaking, young people prefer using social media.
  • 一般说来，。
    yì bān shuō lái, Kǎo shì qián hǎo hǎo fù xí jiù néng qǔ dé hǎo chéng jì.
    Generally speaking, if you review well before exams, you can get good grades.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 般 →

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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