言简意赅 (yán jiǎn yì gāi) — concise and comprehensive (idiom)

Definition

A formal chengyu meaning 'concise and to the point' — praising writing or speech that uses few words yet conveys the full meaning. Typically used for articles, explanations, or replies (e.g. 教授的回答言简意赅).

idiom
concise and comprehensive (idiom)

Examples

  • 言简意赅，。
    Tā de wén zhāng xiě dé yán jiǎn yì gāi, méi yǒu fèi huà.
    His article is concise and comprehensive, with no unnecessary words.
  • 言简意赅，。
    Zhè běn zhǐ nán yán jiǎn yì gāi, hěn shì hé chū xué zhě.
    This guide is concise and comprehensive, very suitable for beginners.
  • 言简意赅，。
    Jiào shòu de huí dá yán jiǎn yì gāi, dà jiā yí xià zi jiù dǒng le.
    The professor's reply was concise and comprehensive, and everyone understood right away.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

Open 言 →

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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