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hú 胡 shuō 说 bā 八 dào 道

胡说八道 hú shuō bā dào

to talk nonsense; rubbish

Literally: nonsense talk eight ways

Beginner 💬 Speech & communication
🃏 Practise beginner chengyu

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Origin

Descriptive; no single source story. Attested in Song dynasty Chan Buddhist records and Ming fiction.

How to use it

Predicate or standalone exclamation; negative, colloquial. Often 别胡说八道!

Example sentences

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  1. 别胡说八道了，我根本没说过那句话。
    Bié hú shuō bā dào le, wǒ gēnběn méi shuōguo nà jù huà.
    Stop talking nonsense; I never said that at all.
    don't nonsense talk eight ways (particle), I at-all not say-experienced that (measure) sentence
  2. 他喝多了就开始胡说八道。
    Tā hēduō le jiù kāishǐ hú shuō bā dào.
    Once he's had too much to drink he starts talking rubbish.
    he drink-much (particle) then start nonsense talk eight ways

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