DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

說來說去

简说来说去 · 繁說來說去

Mandarin · pinyin shuō lái shuō qù

(idiom) when all is said and done

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

說: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid
來: lái · come, coming; return, returning
去: qù · go away, leave, depart
说: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid
来: lái · come, coming; return, returning

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–2–1–4 · shuo1 lai2 shuo1 qu4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

說來說去 · find source passages ↗ · 说来说去 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗