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一言難盡

简一言难尽 · 繁一言難盡

Mandarin · pinyin yī yán nán jìn

hard to explain in a few words (idiom); complicated and not easy to express succinctly

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
難: Look up this written character
盡: Look up this written character
难: nán · difficult, arduous, hard; unable
尽: jǐn · exhaust, use up; deplete

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–2–4 · yi1 yan2 nan2 jin4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

一言難盡 · find source passages ↗ · 一言难尽 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 jin4 naan4 zeon6

Cantonese word readings for 一言難盡. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(of complicated matters) to be hard to explain in a few words; there is a lot to say; it's a long story

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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