# 街谈巷议

jiē tán xiàng yì

Everyday public talk and discussion

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Talk in streets and discussion in lanes

**Traditional Chinese:** 街談巷議

**Register:** General · spoken & written

[People & connection](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/relationships)

## When to use it

Describe what people are informally discussing in public.

Informal discussion does not establish that a claim is accurate.

## The image & its use

People discuss the changes they notice in everyday places: a new reading room, a different bus schedule, or an upcoming neighborhood event. This expression names that informal public conversation. It can suggest a widely discussed topic, though the information may be incomplete. The phrase does not tell us whether the speakers have checked what they heard. For an accurate account, distinguish the fact of people discussing something from the truth of the statements circulating in that discussion.

## Examples

新公园成了街谈巷议的话题。

### Traditional Chinese

新公園成了街談巷議的話題。

xīn gōng yuán chéng le jiē tán xiàng yì de huà tí 。

The new park became a topic of everyday public discussion.

街谈巷议中，大家最关心开放时间。

### Traditional Chinese

街談巷議中，大家最關心開放時間。

jiē tán xiàng yì zhōng ， dà jiā zuì guān xīn kāi fàng shí jiān 。

In informal public conversations, people were most concerned about the opening hours.

这些只是街谈巷议，还需要核实。

### Traditional Chinese

這些只是街談巷議，還需要核實。

zhè xiē zhǐ shì jiē tán xiàng yì ， hái xū yào hé shí 。

These are only informal public reports and still need checking.

他记录街谈巷议，了解社区居民的想法。

### Traditional Chinese

他記錄街談巷議，瞭解社區居民的想法。

tā jì lù jiē tán xiàng yì ， liǎo jiě shè qū jū mín de xiǎng fǎ 。

He recorded everyday public discussions to understand residents' views.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 7, 2026.

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=1177&webMd=1&la=0)

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E8%A1%97%E8%AB%87%E5%B7%B7%E8%AD%B0)

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