口干舌燥

Pronunciation: kǒu gān shé zào Literal meaning: Mouth dry tongue parched

Origin & Usage

Mouth (口) dry (干) and tongue (舌) parched (燥). The phrase is physical before it is figurative and describes the specific state produced by talking for a long time without drinking. Its normal use is as a complaint about wasted effort: 说得口干舌燥, to have talked oneself hoarse — with the implication, nearly always, that the listener was not persuaded. It is what a parent or a teacher says after the third repetition of the same advice.

Examples

English: "After speaking for three hours, the presenter needed water desperately"

Chinese: 讲了三个小时后，演讲者迫切需要水