📖 Meaning
Describes a state of extreme exhaustion from talking excessively, to the point where one's lips are worn out and tongue feels decayed. It conveys the idea of having argued, persuaded, or explained something so much that one's mouth is completely spent. Often used to emphasize the futility of endless speech when the listener remains unmoved.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a variant of the more common expression '唇焦舌敝' (chún jiāo shé bì), which dates back to classical Chinese literature describing the exhaustion of repeated persuasion. The character '敝' (worn, tattered) is replaced here by '腐' (rotten, decayed), intensifying the image of oral fatigue. No specific dynasty or historical figure is definitively tied to this particular variant, as it likely evolved through literary usage as a rhetorical flourish. The idiom belongs to a family of expressions that use physical deterioration of the mouth to metaphorically represent the toll of excessive speech.
💡 Example Usage
为了劝他回头，我已说得唇敝舌腐，他却依旧执迷不悟。
I have talked until my lips are worn and my tongue is rotten trying to persuade him to turn back, yet he remains stubbornly unrepentant.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 唇敝舌腐
- Pinyin: chún bì shé fǔ
- Literal Translation: lips worn, tongue rotten
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4