七嘴八舌

qīzuǐ-bāshé

idiom HSK 7-9 #46,969

Meanings

大家七嘴八舌地讨论起来。

Dàjiā qīzuǐbāshé de tǎolùn qǐlái.

Everyone started talking at once in discussion.

同学们七嘴八舌，教室里很热闹。

Tóngxué men qīzuǐbāshé, jiàoshì lǐ hěn rènào.

The students were all talking over each other, making the classroom very lively.

memory

Seven mouths (七嘴) and eight tongues (八舌) -- imagine a crowd where there are more tongues than mouths, everyone talking nonstop!

usage

七嘴八舌 is descriptive rather than negative. It depicts a lively, noisy scene of many people talking simultaneously, not necessarily arguing.

七 qī

嘴 zuǐ

八 bā

舌 shé