Chinese word

废话

Pronunciation

Pinyinfèi huà

Meaning

  • nounnonsense

Example

别说废话，说重点。bié shuō fèi huà shuō zhòng diǎn

Don't talk nonsense; get to the point.

Illustration for 废话 (nonsense)

More examples

会议记录里充斥着废话，难以找到核心结论。huì yì jì lù lǐ chōng chì zhe fèi huà nán yǐ zhǎo dào hé xīn jié lùn

The meeting minutes are full of nonsense, making it difficult to find the main conclusions.

Core concept

Speech that wanders away from the useful point and fills the conversation with trivial detail.

Common phrases

  • 说废话shuō fèi huà

    talk nonsense

  • 别说废话bié shuō fèi huà

    don't talk nonsense

  • 废话连篇fèi huà lián piān

    be full of nonsense

Similar words

闲聊xián liáo: Casual conversation about unimportant matters, often used simply to pass the time.
闲话xián huà: Gossip or needless comments about other people, sometimes with a critical tone.
胡言乱语hú yán luàn yǔ: Confused speech with no clear logic, evidence, or meaning.

Definition in Chinese

无意义、琐碎或与主题无关的谈话，带有贬义，常用来批评冗长或跑题的发言。wú yì yì suǒ suì huò yǔ zhǔ tí wú guān de tán huà dài yǒu biǎn yì cháng yòng lái pī píng rǒng cháng huò pǎo tí de fā yán

Word origin

废 (fèi, "useless") + 话 (huà, "speech") presents this talk as words that are not worth keeping, which fits its sense of pointless or off-topic speech.

Usage tips

  • The expression is blunt enough to sound dismissive, so its use depends strongly on the relationship and setting rather than on the content alone.

Other meanings

  • idle talknoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 废话连篇fèi huà lián piānbe full of nonsenseidiom
  • 废话文学fèi huà wén xuénonsense literaturenoun

Word lists with this word