三言两语 (sān yán liǎng yǔ)

Character breakdown

• 三 (Sān) · 3 strokes

  Three horizontal strokes, representing the number three.

• 言 (yán) · 7 strokes

  Pictograph of a tongue (舌) sticking out of a mouth. In old scripts 言 was written the same as 舌 but with an extra line.

• 两 (liǎng) · 7 strokes

  Simplified form of 兩. Combination of two 丙 characters. 丙 also represents the sound.

• 语 (yǔ) · 9 strokes

  Simplified form of 語. Phonosemantic compound. 言 represents the meaning and 吾 represents the sound.

Usage

三言两语说不清楚，我们还是坐下来慢慢谈。

A few words can't explain it clearly; let's sit down and talk it over.

Sān yán liǎng yǔ shuō bù qīngchu, wǒmen háishì zuò xiàlai mànmàn tán.