说来话长

shuō lái huà cháng

  • Meaning

    Literal

    -

    Usage

    This means "it's a long story," and it's used the same way as in English

  • Connotation

    Neutral

  • Usage Examples

    我如何开始学英文的，说来话长。 | Wǒ rúhé kāishǐ xué yīngwén de, shuō lái huà zhǎng
    How I started learning English is a long story
    [Source]

    为什么因特网在我们的生活中发挥了重要的作用？这说来话长 | Wèishéme yīntèwǎng zài wǒmen de shēnghuó zhōng fāhuīle zhòngyào de zuòyòng? Zhè shuō lái huà zhǎng
    Why does the internet play an important role in our lives? It's a long story
    [Source]

  • Equivalents

    English

    It's a long story

    Long story

    Chinese

    None

  • Entry Notes

    None

  • Origin

    《红楼梦》(Hóng Lóu Mèng) by Qīng (清, 1644-1911) author 曹雪芹 (Cáo Xuěqín). Often translated in English as "A Dream of Red Mansions," 红楼梦 is one of China's four great classical novels

  • Story

    This chengyu comes from a line in the work listed in the "Origin" section above

  • Citations and Helpful Resources

    • 汉语成语小词典 (hànyǔ chéngyǔ xiǎo cídiǎn)
    • 现代汉语规范词典 (xiàndài hànyǔ guīfàn cídiǎn)
    • 多功能成语词典 (duō gōngnéng chéngyǔ cídiǎn)
    • 汉语大词典 (hànyǔ dà cídiǎn)
    • ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary
    • Pleco Basic Chinese-English Dictionary
    • 百度百科[x]