七嘴八舌
qī zuǐ bā shé · HSK 7
lively discussion with everybody talking at once
👄🗣️ 七嘴八舌 = seven 嘴 mouths + eight 舌 tongues = everyone chattering at once
嘴 is mouth and 舌 is tongue; seven and eight just mean lots. A crowd of mouths and tongues going at the same time gives the sense of a noisy discussion where everybody talks over everybody else.
七 — single horizontal stroke 一 + vertical hook 乚
Originally a pictograph showing a horizontal line cut by a vertical stroke, representing the act of cutting — the early meaning of 'cut' (later written 切). It was borrowed phonetically to write the number seven, and that borrowed numerical meaning became standard, while the original 'cut' sense moved to 切.
嘴 — mouth 口 + 此 (phonetic) + 角 (horn)
嘴 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 口 (mouth) component gives the meaning, while 觜 (originally 'beak/horn-tip', combining 此 and 角) supplies the sound. It first meant a bird's beak, then broadened to mean mouth, and by extension the spout or tip of any object.
八 — two strokes diverging outward
Originally a pictograph of two lines splitting apart, meaning 'to divide' or 'separate.' It was later borrowed phonetically to write the number eight, and this borrowed numerical sense became dominant. The original 'divide' meaning survives in compounds like 分.