Chinese word

七嘴八舌

Pronunciation

Pinyinqī zuǐ bā shé

Meaning

  • idiomtalk over one another

Example

讨论时大家七嘴八舌，谁也没听对方说完。tǎo lùn shí dà jiā qī zuǐ bā shé shuí yě méi tīng duì fāng shuō wán

During the discussion, everyone talks over one another, and no one hears anyone else out.

Illustration for 七嘴八舌 (talk over one another)

More examples

与会者七嘴八舌地提出意见，会议难以推进。yù huì zhě qī zuǐ bā shé dì tí chū yì jiàn huì yì nán yǐ tuī jìn

The attendees voice their opinions all at once, making it hard to move the meeting forward.

Core concept

Many mouths and tongues speak at once, so their voices overlap and the main point becomes hard to follow.

Common phrases

  • 大家七嘴八舌地发言dà jiā qī zuǐ bā shé dì fā yán

    everyone speaks all at once

  • 与会者七嘴八舌地提出意见yù huì zhě qī zuǐ bā shé dì tí chū yì jiàn

    attendees voice opinions all at once

  • 会场上七嘴八舌地议论huì chǎng shàng qī zuǐ bā shé dì yì lùn

    people at the venue discuss things all at once

Similar words

议论纷纷yì lùn fēn fēn: Many people discuss a topic and express various opinions about it.
你一言我一语nǐ yì yán wǒ yì yǔ: People exchange short remarks back and forth in a conversation.
人声鼎沸rén shēng dǐng fèi: The many voices of a crowd rise together, making the surroundings extremely noisy and lively.
争论不休zhēng lùn bù xiū: A disagreement keeps the discussion going for a long time without reaching an end.

Definition in Chinese

形容多人同时说话，口头意见很多且互相打断，难以听清主旨。xíng róng duō rén tóng shí shuō huà kǒu tóu yì jiàn hěn duō qiě hù xiāng dǎ duàn nán yǐ tīng qīng zhú zhǐ

Word origin

七 (qī, "seven") + 嘴 (zuǐ, "mouth") + 八 (bā, "eight") + 舌 (shé, "tongue") creates an exaggerated picture of many people speaking at the same time.

Usage tips

  • The idiom usually suggests poor turn-taking and mild disorder, rather than simply describing a lively group conversation.

Other meanings

  • chatter noisilyidiom

Opposites

Word lists with this word