一五一十

Pronunciation: yī wǔ yī shí Literal meaning: Count by fives and tens

Origin & Usage

Chinese counts large quantities in fives and tens, so 一五一十 is the sound of someone tallying aloud — five, ten, fifteen — without skipping. Applied to speech it means an account given in that manner: everything in order, nothing rounded off, nothing left out. It is used above all of testimony and confession, where the point is completeness rather than eloquence, and it commonly appears as 一五一十地说出来, to tell the whole thing.

Examples

English: "He recounted the events with precise details, making it easy to understand."

Chinese: 他把事情一五一十地讲述清楚，让人容易理解。