<ul>
<li>Basic
<ul>
<li>没有根据 unfounded</li>
<li>不合逻辑 illogical</li>
<li>不可信 untrustworthy</li>
<li>没有说服力 unpersuasive</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Advanced
<ul>
<li>信口开河：说话没有根据，不可靠。（嘴巴随意张开。信口：随口。开河：原为开合。）</li>
<li>信口雌黄：不顾事实，随口乱说或妄作评论。（雌黄：Correction fluid used in ancient China）</li>
<li>天方夜谭 (noun)：虚妄荒诞的言论。（《天方夜谭》 is the previous translation of <em>One Thousand and One Nights</em>《一千零一夜》. Used for unfounded speech like a mythology / fairy tale）</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Unbiased language<br />
I personally use 乱说 rather than 胡说 or 瞎说.
<ul>
<li>胡 means foreign, e.g. 胡椒 black pepper (which is not origin in China). Although 胡 has the meaning of 乱 and beard/moustache in dictionary, I still think 胡说 is a stereotype on foreign citizens. Does foreigner's speech imply nonsense?</li>
<li>瞎 means is offensive way to say blind. 失明 and 视觉障碍 are inclusive language. I don't think 瞎说 is appropriate.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-26T19:42:57.540Z
thank you! Are there different meaning nuances between the "advanced" ones?
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-30T11:19:50.950Z
@blackgreen By the way, the advanced ones sound more educated, but they are not more polite or euphemistic. The person hearing them will be as hurt as, if not more hurt than, hearing 乱说 or 胡说八道.
Betty
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-30T11:21:53.033Z
@Betty thanks, do you have any suggestions for euphemisms?
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-30T11:31:07.450Z
@blackgreen no, I can't think of a way to call people "talking rubbish" without hurting their feelings. The best I can think of is to just say "I don't agree with you." (我不同意你的看法。 ) Maybe you can show me some of such euphemisms in English?
Betty
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-30T13:01:18.300Z
@Betty uhm in English you could say: "aren't you in over your head" as an euphemism for "not knowing what you're talking about"
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-02T01:11:42.333Z
@blackgreen 你的想法非常“大胆”，但我觉得目前的状况跟你所说的有一些差距。大胆 adj. (commendatory 褒义) daring, brave. Here, it is a fake 大胆.
Bósài
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-02T01:23:26.207Z
Not knowing what someone is y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶  talking about 听完 Lisa 的发言，我不知所云。(If someone uses 不知所云 in front of the person who is talking nonsense, it will bring an awkward silence.)
Bósài
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-07T15:46:21.927Z
"开河：原为开合" (开河 is originally from 开合)—why? 开河 = "open a river" makes a lot of sense here. I'm not sure what 开合 means. "没有说服力" more directly means "unpersuasive", right?
mic
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-10T03:32:58.197Z
开：张开 open；合：闭合 close；信口：随口。So it means open and close the mouth / say something *arbitrarily*. "没有说服力" more directly means "unpersuasive". I just updated.
Bósài
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-26T19:37:36.607Z
2020-08-10T03:28:35.343Z
2020-08-10T03:28:35.343Z
Bósài
<p>The first thing comes to mind for this: 无稽之谈.  Here's the dictionary definition:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>groundless statement; a cock-and-bull [cock and bull] story; a false tale; a fishy story; a latrine rumour; baseless gossip [talk]; clotted nonsense; cooked-up story; fantastic talk; idle assertions; mere unsupported statements; pack of nonsense; sheer nonsense; tale of a tub; unfounded talk</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-26T21:40:45.090Z
2020-06-26T21:40:45.090Z
dan
<p>Beside 信口开河 and 信口雌黄, <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%83%A1%E8%A8%80%E4%BA%82%E8%AA%9E" rel="nofollow noreferrer">胡言亂語</a> (speaking nonsense) would also be appropriate.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Both 信口开河 and 信口雌黄 mean the same. They just have different origins</p>
</li>
<li><p>天方夜谭 is a noun</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Also: <a href="http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/359/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">語無倫次</a>: to utter nonsense</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-26T19:52:23.387Z
2020-06-29T07:24:12.570Z
2020-06-29T07:24:12.570Z
Tang Ho
<p>Essentially, let's say that during a polite conversation, I want to remark that someone 乱说 / 胡说八道 “talks rubbish&quot;, without sounding inelegant or unrefined (没素质).</p>
<p>What's a good euphemism, a chengyu or some other idiomatic way that <strong>elegantly</strong> gets the point across?</p>
<p>Something that you could say in not-so-informal situations, e.g. during a meeting with colleagues, or while talking with a well schooled person you aren't too familiar with.</p>

<idioms><chengyu>
Is there an idiomatic way to express 乱说 or 胡说八道 in an elegant way?
# Is there an idiomatic way to express 乱说 or 胡说八道 in an elegant way?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-06-26)

Essentially, let's say that during a polite conversation, I want to remark that someone 乱说 / 胡说八道 “talks rubbish", without sounding inelegant or unrefined (没素质).

What's a good euphemism, a chengyu or some other idiomatic way that **elegantly** gets the point across?

Something that you could say in not-so-informal situations, e.g. during a meeting with colleagues, or while talking with a well schooled person you aren't too familiar with.

**Tags:** idioms, chengyu


---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-06-26. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

* Basic
  + 没有根据 unfounded
  + 不合逻辑 illogical
  + 不可信 untrustworthy
  + 没有说服力 unpersuasive
* Advanced
  + 信口开河：说话没有根据，不可靠。（嘴巴随意张开。信口：随口。开河：原为开合。）
  + 信口雌黄：不顾事实，随口乱说或妄作评论。（雌黄：Correction fluid used in ancient China）
  + 天方夜谭 (noun)：虚妄荒诞的言论。（《天方夜谭》 is the previous translation of *One Thousand and One Nights*《一千零一夜》. Used for unfounded speech like a mythology / fairy tale）
* Unbiased language  
  I personally use 乱说 rather than 胡说 or 瞎说.
  + 胡 means foreign, e.g. 胡椒 black pepper (which is not origin in China). Although 胡 has the meaning of 乱 and beard/moustache in dictionary, I still think 胡说 is a stereotype on foreign citizens. Does foreigner's speech imply nonsense?
  + 瞎 means is offensive way to say blind. 失明 and 视觉障碍 are inclusive language. I don't think 瞎说 is appropriate.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: thank you! Are there different meaning nuances between the "advanced" ones?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 By the way, the advanced ones sound more educated, but they are not more polite or euphemistic. The person hearing them will be as hurt as, if not more hurt than, hearing 乱说 or 胡说八道.  
> **username_0**: @username_2 thanks, do you have any suggestions for euphemisms?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 no, I can't think of a way to call people "talking rubbish" without hurting their feelings. The best I can think of is to just say "I don't agree with you." (我不同意你的看法。 ) Maybe you can show me some of such euphemisms in English?  
> **username_0**: @username_2 uhm in English you could say: "aren't you in over your head" as an euphemism for "not knowing what you're talking about"  
> **username_1**: @username_0 你的想法非常“大胆”，但我觉得目前的状况跟你所说的有一些差距。大胆 adj. (commendatory 褒义) daring, brave. Here, it is a fake 大胆.  
> **username_1**: Not knowing what someone is y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶  talking about 听完 Lisa 的发言，我不知所云。(If someone uses 不知所云 in front of the person who is talking nonsense, it will bring an awkward silence.)  
> **username_3**: "开河：原为开合" (开河 is originally from 开合)—why? 开河 = "open a river" makes a lot of sense here. I'm not sure what 开合 means. "没有说服力" more directly means "unpersuasive", right?  
> **username_1**: 开：张开 open；合：闭合 close；信口：随口。So it means open and close the mouth / say something *arbitrarily*. "没有说服力" more directly means "unpersuasive". I just updated.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-06-26. Score: 3

The first thing comes to mind for this: 无稽之谈. Here's the dictionary definition:

> groundless statement; a cock-and-bull [cock and bull] story; a false tale; a fishy story; a latrine rumour; baseless gossip [talk]; clotted nonsense; cooked-up story; fantastic talk; idle assertions; mere unsupported statements; pack of nonsense; sheer nonsense; tale of a tub; unfounded talk


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-06-26. Score: 3

Beside 信口开河 and 信口雌黄, [胡言亂語](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%83%A1%E8%A8%80%E4%BA%82%E8%AA%9E) (speaking nonsense) would also be appropriate.

* Both 信口开河 and 信口雌黄 mean the same. They just have different origins
* 天方夜谭 is a noun

Also: [語無倫次](http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/359/): to utter nonsense


---

