长 话 短 说

cháng huà duǎn shuōdictionary entry

(idiom) to make a long story short / to keep it brief

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-84c73d850aace5f8. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

長話短說长话短说 [chang2 hua4 duan3 shuo1] /(idiom) to make a long story short; to keep it brief/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 長話短說

长
cháng
long / (bound form) length / (bound form) strong point / forte / (bound form) to be good at / (literary) surplus / spare (Taiwan pr. [zhàng])
zhǎng
chief / head / elder / to grow / to develop / to increase / to enhance
话
huà
dialect / language / spoken words / speech / talk / words / conversation / what sb said / CL:種|种[zhǒng],席[xí],句[jù],口[kǒu],番[fān]
短
duǎn
short / brief / to lack / weak point / fault
说
shuì
to persuade
shuō
to speak / to talk / to say / to explain / to comment / to scold / to tell off / (bound form) theory / doctrine

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.