简而言之 (jiǎn ér yán zhī) — in short, in brief, to put it simply

Definition

This is a fixed expression used as a discourse marker to introduce a summary or conclusion, equivalent to 'in short', 'in brief', or 'to put it simply'. It typically appears at the beginning of a sentence or clause, signaling that what follows condenses previous information into a concise statement. Unlike a literal translation might suggest, it is not a verb phrase but a set phrase used in both spoken and written Chinese.

f.e.

in shortin briefto put it simply

Examples

简而言之，。
jiǎn ér yán zhī, zhège xiàngmù xūyào gèng duō de shíjiān hé zījīn.
In short, this project needs more time and funding.
，简而言之，。
Tā de yǎnjiǎng nèiróng hěn duō, jiǎn ér yán zhī, jiùshì qiángdiào tuánduì hézuò.
His speech had a lot of content; in short, it emphasized teamwork.
简而言之，。
jiǎn ér yán zhī, wǒmen bùnéng hūshì zhège wèntí de zhòngyàoxìng.
In short, we cannot ignore the importance of this issue.

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