📖 Meaning
Refers to mentioning something but not explaining it in detail. It describes a vague or incomplete account that leaves the listener or reader without sufficient information. The phrase implies the speaker touched on the topic yet failed to provide specifics.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Tang dynasty scholar Han Yu's essay '原道' (Inquiry into the Way), a foundational text of Confucian revivalism. In it, Han Yu critiques earlier philosophers Xunzi (荀子) and Yang Xiong (扬雄), writing that they 'selected but not with precision, spoke but not in detail' (择焉而不精，语焉而不详). He used this phrase to argue that although these thinkers addressed the Way, their explanations were inadequate and lacking in substance.
💡 Example Usage
他对事情经过语焉不详，让人难以了解真相。
He was vague about what happened, making it hard to know the truth.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 语焉不详
- Pinyin: yǔ yān bù xiáng
- Literal Translation: speak, thereof, not, detailed
- Category: Clarity
- Characters: 4