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说大话 (shuō dà huà) — to brag, to talk big

Definition

Set phrase meaning 'to brag, talk big' — implies the speaker's claims are exaggerated and shouldn't be taken seriously. The verb 说 splits to 说大话 (no object inserted); reduplicate as 说大话 to soften.

verb
to bragto talk big

Examples

  • 说大话，。
    Tā bù xǐ huan shuō dà huà, dàn zuò shì qing hěn rèn zhēn.
    He doesn't like to brag, but he does things very carefully.
  • ，。
    Tā zuó tiān yòu shuō le hǎo jǐ cì dà huà, méi rén xiāng xìn tā le.
    He bragged several times again yesterday; no one believes him anymore.
  • ，。
    Bié shuō dà huà le, xiān bǎ rèn wu wán chéng zài shuō.
    Stop talking big. Finish the task first before you say anything.

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 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.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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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