七嘴八舌

Pronunciation: qī zuǐ bā shé Literal meaning: Seven mouths eight tongues

Origin & Usage

Seven (七) mouths (嘴), eight (八) tongues (舌). Chinese pairs seven and eight to mean disordered multiplicity, the same device that gives 乱七八糟 and 七手八脚, and here it is applied to speech. What the phrase describes is not argument but simultaneity — everyone contributing, nobody yielding the floor, and no thread surviving. It is colloquial and mildly exasperated, and it is what you say about a family dinner or a meeting that has stopped being one conversation.

Examples

English: "Everyone was talking at once, offering different opinions."

Chinese: 大家七嘴八舌，各抒己见。