出口成章 (chū kǒu chéng zhāng)

Character breakdown

• 出 (chū) · 5 strokes

  Pictograph of a foot (止) exiting a cave (凵).

• 口 (kǒu) · 3 strokes

  Pictograph of a mouth.

• 成 (Chéng) · 6 strokes

  Depicts defending city walls (丁) with an axe (戌). 丁 also represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "city", now written as 城. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

• 章 (Zhāng) · 11 strokes

  Possibly depicts using a blade (䇂) to engrave a block of jade. Based on the original meaning "jade ornament", now written as 璋. Later the meaning shifted to "seal" and "chapter".

Usage

他口才好，每次发言都出口成章。

With his great speaking skills, every speech he gives is eloquent.

Tā kǒu cái hǎo, měi cì fā yán dōu chū kǒu chéng zhāng.