横说竖说

橫說豎說
héngshuō-shùshuō
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to explain from every angle
  2. 2 to repeat over and over
  3. 3 to argue back and forth

Examples

HSK 3
Wǒ héngshuō-shùshuō, tā jiùshì bù tīng.
No matter how I explained it, he just wouldn't listen.
HSK 7-9
Māma héngshuō-shùshuō, háizi háishì bùkěn chī yào.
Mom kept trying to convince him from every angle, but the child still refused to take the medicine.

Tips

history
Recorded in the Song-dynasty Chan Buddhist text 《景德传灯录》, where Master Xiyun (希运) says even the Fourth Patriarch's disciple 'explained crosswise and lengthwise yet still missed the deeper turning point'.
memory
('horizontal') + ('vertical') = covering every direction, like saying 'I explained it sideways and upside down'.

Stroke Order

héng
shuō
shù