廢話 / 废话
fèihuà
To say nonsense in Chinese, use 廢話 / 废话 (fèihuà), meaning meaningless words. If unsure, use 廢話 / 废话. Wiktionary also lists 胡說 / 胡说 (húshuō) and 胡言 (húyán).
Meaning: meaningless words (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 廢話 / 废话 | fèihuà | |
| 胡說 / 胡说 | húshuō | |
| 胡言 | húyán | |
| 狗屁 | gǒupì | vulgar |
废话 is also a colloquial retort when someone states the obvious. 无稽之谈 means groundless talk, and 瞎扯 means random chatter or talking nonsense.
What does it mean word for word?
廢 means waste or useless and 話 means words or speech. In 胡說 / 胡说 (húshuō), 胡 means recklessly or absurdly and 說 means to speak.
Which one should you use?
廢話 says the words themselves are useless or redundant, while 胡說 focuses on the act of talking nonsense or lying. 胡言乱语 is a common idiom for someone talking nonsense or raving.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
狗屁 (gǒupì), literally dog fart, is vulgar slang for dismissing words as utter nonsense.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some regions, particularly northern China, 屁话 is used to mean nonsense.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
In pinyin it is fèihuà, with a falling tone on both syllables.
Did you know?
- The word 胡 in 胡說 originally referred to non-Han ethnic groups from the west and north. Over time, the term evolved from describing 'foreign speech' to meaning 'reckless' or 'absurd' talk.
- In Chinese, 'farting' is a linguistic metaphor for insignificance. Beyond the vulgarity of 狗屁, the character 屁 can act as a suffix to indicate that a concept or object is trivial or holds no value.
- The phrase 胡言亂語 is frequently used in medical contexts to describe the 'delirium' of a patient with a high fever. It describes a total loss of mental control rather than a simple lie.
Examples in context
- 一派胡言！A bunch of nonsense!一派胡言 is a set phrase meaning a whole lot of nonsense.Tatoeba #1762995 by sadhen, translation #8645630 by hamsolo474
- 汤姆在胡言乱语。Tom is talking nonsense.胡言乱语 describes Tom talking nonsense.Tatoeba #10258149 by DaoSeng, translation #8367266 by CK
- 他说的都是胡说八道。What he's saying is all nonsense.
- 你说的都是无稽之谈。What you're saying is all nonsense.
- 别说废话了。Stop talking nonsense.
- 你说的全是狗屁。Everything you're saying is nonsense.
- 别瞎扯了，说点有用的。Stop talking nonsense and say something useful.
- 你别说那么多屁话。Don't talk so much nonsense.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “nonsense” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
