长话短说

長話短說

chánghuà-duǎnshuō

idiom #8,272

Meanings

HSK 1

时间不多了，长话短说吧。

Shíjiān bù duō le, chánghuà-duǎnshuō ba.

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

HSK 3

长话短说，我们最后赢了。

Chánghuà-duǎnshuō, wǒmen zuìhòu yíng le.

Long story short, we won in the end.

HSK 5

好吧，长话短说，他辞职了。

Hǎo ba, chánghuà-duǎnshuō, 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