📖 Meaning
Originally referring to counting items methodically by fives and tens. Metaphorically, it means to narrate or recount something from beginning to end in full detail, leaving nothing out, or to describe a complete and orderly account of events.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Chapter 25 of the Ming dynasty novel "Water Margin" (水浒传) by Shi Nai'an. In the story, a woman who had overheard certain matters turned around and recounted everything she knew, down to the last detail, to Wang Po and Ximen Qing. The phrase likens a thorough retelling to the careful, systematic act of counting objects one by five, one by ten, without skipping any.
💡 Example Usage
他坐下来，把事情的来龙去脉一五一十地告诉了大家。
He sat down and told everyone the whole story from beginning to end in complete detail.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 一五一十
- Pinyin: yī wú yī shí
- Literal Translation: one, five, one, ten
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4