长话短说

長話短說

chánghuà-duǎnshuō

idiom #8,272

Meanings

长话短说，我们最后赢了。

Chánghuàduǎnshuō, wǒmen zuìhòu yíng le.

Long story short, we won in the end.

时间不多了，长话短说吧。

Shíjiān bù duō le, chánghuàduǎnshuō ba.

There's not much time, so let's cut to the chase.

好吧，长话短说，他辞职了。

Hǎo ba, chánghuàduǎnshuō, tā cízhí le.

Okay, to make a long story short, he resigned.

memory

长 (long) + 话 (story) + 短 (short) + 说 (tell) — literally 'long story short tell'. The structure mirrors the English phrase perfectly.

grammar

Used at the beginning of a sentence or clause, just like 'long story short' in English. Often followed by 吧 when suggesting brevity.

长 cháng

话 huà

短 duǎn

说 shuō