Words & Speech
一言半句
일언반구
yī yán bàn jù
Il-eon-ban-gu
一
한 일
言
말씀 언
半
반 반
句
글귀 구
Character by character
Meaning
A word and half a phrase — even the smallest utterance.
Origin
A set phrase that emphasises the barest minimum of speech.
How it is used
Almost always used with a negative: "not a word of it was said".
Hanja一言半句
Simplified一言半句
Korean reading일언반구
Pinyinyī yán bàn jù
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Il-eon-ban-gu mean?
一言半句 · A word and half a phrase — even the smallest utterance.
Q. Where does Il-eon-ban-gu come from?
A set phrase that emphasises the barest minimum of speech.
Q. How is Il-eon-ban-gu used?
Almost always used with a negative: "not a word of it was said".
Idioms in the same group
言中有骨 Eon-jung-yu-golThere is bone inside the words — a hard meaning hidden in an ordinary remark.寸鐵殺人 Chon-cheol-sa-rinKill with an inch of steel — pierce the vital point with a few words.以心傳心 I-sim-jeon-simMind transmits to mind — understanding without a word spoken.甘言利說 Gam-eon-i-seolSweet words and seemingly advantageous talk — the language of enticement.有口無言 Yu-gu-mu-eonYou have a mouth but nothing to say.一言之下 Il-eon-ji-haSettled in a single word — a flat, immediate response.
The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.