语焉不详

語焉不詳
yǔyānbùxiáng
idiom #69,770

Meanings

  1. 1 to mention something without elaborating
  2. 2 to speak vaguely
  3. 3 to gloss over details

Examples

Tā duì nà duàn jīnglì yǔyānbùxiáng, xiǎnrán bú yuàn duō tán.
He was vague about that period in his life — clearly he didn't want to say more.
Lìshǐ jìzǎi duì cǐ shì yǔyānbùxiáng, zhìjīn réng shì yí ge mí.
Historical records gloss over this event, and it remains a mystery to this day.

Tips

history
From Han Yu's Tang-dynasty essay 《》: '不详。' Han Yu criticizes the philosophers Xun Zi and Yang Xiong for choosing without precision and speaking without detail.
usage
Often describes evasive witnesses, vague reports, or terse historical records. Commonly follows ...(此事 / 问题). Slight pejorative overtone — implies the speaker is withholding or being careless.

Stroke Order

yān
xiáng